Review: “Laugh” at Studio Theatre
"Laugh" provokes mostly groans from its slapstick antics
Photo by Igor Dmitry
“I just want to laugh,” playwright Beth Henley has been quoted as saying.
That may well be, but her latest work, Laugh, fails to incite any such reaction. Best known for her Southern tragicomedies, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning Crimes of the Heart and her dark, Off-Broadway hit The Jacksonian, Henley decided to switch tracks and create a pure comedy.
Perhaps she succeeded on some personal level with Laugh, but it just doesn’t work onstage. I didn’t laugh — out loud or otherwise — once during the world premiere run of her new play at Studio Theatre. Certainly, it’ll fare well with those who have a fetish for slapstick, and can tolerate the show’s excesses of physical comedy, rudimentary wordplay, puns, and downright groan-inducing pranks and jokes. But it was too much when she stooped to having characters toss cream pies in each others’ faces.
Henley was inspired to take the childish, clownish route to comedy after watching some old movies, both silent films and vaudeville. That century-old era of Hollywood becomes the setting for the play, once lead character Mabel plots an escape from her Wild West existence. David Schweizer directs this misbegotten production, whose few redeeming qualities include a game cast. Helen Cespedes is as charming as she should be playing Mabel, who transforms herself into Masha, a Hollywood leading lady originally from Bulgaria. Creed Garnick is particularly adept at pratfalls, playing the cowardly, clumsy Roscoe with a heart of gold, who tries in vain to win Mabel’s affections. And among the remaining four actors, each taking on various roles, Jacob Ming-Trent is particularly skilled at a brand of physical comedy slightly sharper than the average, certainly more so than what’s written for him to play.
Wayne Barker, a Tony Award-nominated composer (Peter and the Starcatcher), is also just off-stage the whole show, playing mostly original music on the piano when he’s not serving as narrator, establishing each scene with a few choice words.
It’s a fine setup, but the payoff in laughter, or even genuine entertainment, just isn’t there.
Laugh (
-1/2) runs to April 19 at Studio Theatre, 14th and P Streets NW. Tickets are $44 to $88. Call 202-332-3300 or visit studiotheatre.org.
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