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Cape May Star and Wave Cape May — "Four by Four" refers to four vintage one-act comedies performed by four talented veterans of East Lynne productions. Damon Bonetti, Dawn Harvey, Mark Edward Lang, and Allison Murphy uphold East Lynne's reputation for excellence in fine style while providing the audience with an evening of droll entertainment. The quartet of theatrical chameleons changes characters and costumes with dazzling skill and almost frightening speed. The four plays are "Bianca" by Louisa May Alcott, "The Smoking Car" by William Dean Howells, "The Painful Predicament of Sherlock Holmes" by William Gillette and "The Passing of Chow-Chow" by Elmer Rice, all covering a period of time between 1847 and 1912. The East Lynne players make these somewhat archaic situations and dialogue relevant to life as we know it. That is not always an easy thing to accomplish, but these actors manage to communicate in such a way that they elicited guffaws from even younger audience members. "Bianca" was written by a young Alcott and would occasionally be performed by her or one of her sisters. Harvey and Murphy were very good as the sisters performing the comic tragedy for their own amusement. They even managed to inject humor into the tragic aspects of the play. Harvey is a marvelous physical comedienne. In "The Smoking Car," her role is brief but is the key to the plot. Bonetti, as the sardonic manipulator of Lang's character's naivete, even manages to befuddle Murphy as the totally bemused wife of Lang's character. Lang, as a speechless Sherlock Holmes, is a mime in the class of Marcel Marceau. He manages to put more meaning into a subtle gesture or raised eyebrow than 20 pages of dialogue could convey. Murphy, his wife, played demente quite well. Even in minor parts, Harvey and Bonetti are most effective. All four communicate and that is most important, whether they do it silently or with words. The end result is hilarious. The fourth play, "The Passing of Chow-Chow," was the one that spoke to the audience most eloquently and relevantly. Bonetti, Harvey, and Lang made the most of a situation that's still familiar in the 21st century, as a misunderstanding fomented by the atrocious behavior of a pet has to be resolved. A husband and wife both seek the services of a lawyer, played by Lang with great comic flair. Lang's facial expressions when reacting to the conflicting complaints are a riot as he realizes what is going on. The four actors and four playlets are admirably directed by Artistic Director Gayle Stahlhuth. I've tried to clue readers in about what is happening on East Lynne's stage without giving too much away. "Four by Four" is must-see theater. |
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