(l – R)Sister Butterworth (Ashley Cowan), Reverend Tollhouse (Dave Sikula) and Brother Brightbee (Christopher Kelly) admire (center) Sister Elizabeth’s (Jennie Brick) famous cheese ball in Custom Made’s The Book of Liz.
THE BOOK OF LIZ: A satirical Farce by The Talent Family of David and Amy Sedaris. Directed by Christopher Jenkins. Custom Made Theatre (CMTC), The Gough Street Playhouse attached to the historic Trinity Church, 1620 Gough Street (at Bush), San Francisco. (510) 207-5774 or www.custommade.org.Extended through August 21, 2011.
THE BOOK OF LIZ a runaway farce at Custom Made
In 2011 Custom Made mounted a very successful production of The Book of Liz that filled their intimate three sided stage every night and earned an extended run. It probably makes good business sense to remount the show at the end of their 2012-2013 season. From the enthusiastic response of the opening night audience, despite some technical glitches, that decision is seems justified.
The play is a satirical farce and the new cast and director have upped the energy level emphasizing the farcical element at the expense of the satire. By doing so much of the double edged satiric dialog gets lost in the extremely broad acting and physical shtick. The four cast members portraying 15 different roles deserve accolades for the sheer energy of their performances and must be physically and vocally exhausted by the end of the whirlwind 90 minutes on stage without an intermission.
The authors, David and Amy Sedaris, are known for their quirky, inane and cutting humor at the expense of hapless characters. The initial group of characters inhabits the Cluster Haven Squeamish Religious Community under the leadership of Reverend Tollhouse (Dave Sikula) who in his opening prayer, kneeling on his beloved prayer cushion, is egotistical rather pious with a complimentary prayer to God as he praises himself rather than the Creator. Sister Elizabeth Donderstock, known as Liz (Jennie Brick) who is Sqeamish to the nth degree makes irresistible tasty cheese balls (traditional and smoky) and the proceeds from their sale keep the entire group financially solvent.
Reverend Tollhouse and Sister Constance Butterworth (Ashley Cowan) are critical of Liz’s liberal philosophy and poor Liz is removed from the annual Chastity Parade dedicated to the “dangers of casual glancing.” Further indignity is heaped upon on gentle Liz when the aggressive newcomer Brother Brightbee (Christopher Kelly) takes over the baking chores after demanding Liz’s recipes. Enough is enough says Liz she and hits the open road on a Candide type journey to discover the outside world.
First up on that road is Mr. Peanuts, who is one half of a Ukrainian couple who were professional cat-de-clawers. They have cockney accents (don’t ask) and befriend Liz who ends up in the Peanut costume. Alas, the couple are deported back to Ukraine due to a parking ticket. Never fear about our Liz who lands a job as a waitress in the Plymouth Crock Cafe (serving Pilgrim food such as English muffins) that hires only recovered alcoholics. (“If you sober up an alcoholic assholes . . . you end up with sober assholes!”) She also learns that homosexuals are the scourges of yard sales.
Complications arise because she has hyperhidrosis (for the non-medical that’s excessive sweating) but she is still offered a promotion to manager. Alas, her prudery will not allow her to get undressed for a physical exam and she would never wear a mini skirt that would display her thighs and legs!
Back at Cluster Haven, they cannot duplicate Liz’s tasty recipe, sales have plummeted they are being forced into bankruptcy. Liz, who has remained a true Squeamish disciple returns and the special ingredient that made her cheese balls so tasty is discovered. They become financially solvent and everyone lives happily ever after with the moon and planet Saturn projected on the back screen.
The entire show is simply staged and you will recognize props from other shows. The multiple scenes are separated with blackouts allowing the costume changes. Jennie Brick’s cheerful attitude as the much put upon Liz is admirable: “I had to dress like a Peanut before I could feel human!” There are many vignettes that are handled adroitly by Ashley Cowan, Christopher Kelly and Dave Sikula but none is hardly memorable. Directorially Jenkins has dispensed with an ensemble concept allowing his actors to loudly and individually “emote” often at the expense of the many delicious satirical lines not receiving their proper emphasis. When the technical glitches are corrected the scenes will flow smoothly adding zest to this zany, madcap, wacky satirical farce that will again attract full audiences.
Kedar K. Adour, MD
Courtesy of http://www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com/
