Italian playwright Eduardo De Filippo puts a human face on the moral quandaries faced by a family in a war-ravaged city in “Napoli!”, presented by American Conservatory Theater.
It’s 1942, the second year that Italyhas been involved in World War II. Allied forces bomb the city almost daily. Food and all other necessities are scarce or unavailable.
After Gennaro Jovine (Marco Barricelli) loses his job as a tram conductor, his wife, Amalia (Seana McKenna), teams up with Errico (Dion Mucciacito), a neighbor, to sell coffee and other goods via the black market in order to support her family.
In one hilarious scene, Gennaro pretends to be dead while Amalia and others mourn over him in order to avoid possible arrest by a wise-to-them Fascist officer, Ciappa (Gregory Wallace). They don’t want Ciappa to discover the contraband that Amalia has hidden in the mattress.
After intermission, Act 2 of this two-hour work takes place 14 months later, after the Allies have landed inItaly. Gennaro, who has gone to war, has been missing for some time and presumed dead. In the meantime, the family has prospered, thanks to Amalia’s entrepreneurship.
Some of her success has come at great cost to others, such as neighbor Riccardo (Anthony Fusco), who owes her so much money for food to feed his family that he is about to lose his house to her.
When Gennaro returns, he has harrowing tales to tell, but no one is interested. They’re more focused on a birthday party for Errico, who has taken a romantic interest in Amalia.
Amalia gets her comeuppance when the Jovines’ youngest daughter (unseen) is seriously ill. The only medicine that can help her is nowhere to be found in Naples until an unlikely person comes forth.
Although the play has humorous moments, it has darker qualities in its depiction of life in wartime and the moral compromises that people make to survive.
ACT is using a new translation by Linda Alper and Beatrice Basso. They also translated the play in 2005 when the Oregon Shakespeare Festival inAshlandpresented it as “Napoli Milionaria!” Alper played Amalia in that production.
Although Amalia is perhaps the principal protagonist, ACT’s production is anchored by Barricelli’s magnetic performance. A longtime favorite in Ashland and ACT and the former artistic director of Shakespeare Santa Cruz, Barricelli makes a most welcome return to the Geary Theater. He commands the stage with his presence and his facility with language.
Most supporting actors in the large cast are noteworthy. Besides Wallace and Fusco, excellent performances come from Nick Gabriel as the Jovines’ young adult son, Amedeo; and Blair Busbee as Maria Rosaria, their somewhat younger daughter. The always dependable Sharon Lockwood plays Adelaide, a kindly neighbor.
Design elements are outstanding, especially Erik Flatmo’s set, (lit by Robert Wierzel), which is transformed from dingy in Act 1 to nicer in Act 2. The same is true of the costumes by Lydia Tanji. Sound by Will McCandless includes realistically loud simulations of a bombing raid.
Director Mark Rucker oversees the action with a sure hand in this well done, thought-provoking production.
It will continue through March 9 at ACT’s Geary Theater, 415 Geary St., San Francisco. For tickets and information, call (415) 749-2228 or visit www.act-sf.org.
