Edwin Booth Meets Mr. Sloane
				(With More than Entertaining Results)
					by Ross Bachelder
Recently, Edward Langlois, the founder and artistic director of the Edwin Booth Theatre, reminded me for the umpteenth time --with his usual glowering, chest-thumping conviction -- that theatre should provoke. In that respect, has the man ever let us down? Of course not!
Joe Orton's hilarious comedy "Entertaining Mr. Sloane," the current production at the Booth, does precisely what Langlois has been promising us it would -- and much more. Orton's little masterpiece, on stage through October 22nd, is not content merely to provoke; that would be too easy. "Mr. Sloane" also manages to confound, titillate, satirize, astonish -- and, well, entertain -- from first blush to final outrage, without cease.
The moment Kath (played at the Booth by Jewel Davis) walks on stage, she's the living, breathing stereotype of everyone's not-so-favorite cockney housekeeper -- an aging, frumpy, wisecracking hussy who's piling on the pounds as quickly as she's losing her figure. Then, as soon as she invites the handsome young Mr. Sloane to stay in her home as a boarder, she comes to life -- and we know we're in for an evening of brash, unapologetic, Chaucerian sensuality. Kath is as concupiscent as a she-goat, and Sloane? To the sex-starved Kath, the swagger-and- sneer in Sloane's Bad-Boy persona sends a loud-and-clear message: Now this boy's young, brash and ready to screw around!
Sloane, played by Chris Curtis , leers like a malevolent Elvis and slithers like a snake. With legs bowed and pelvis thrust provocatively ahead of him, his black-diamond eyes smolder in their sockets, shamelessly undressing anyone in his path. In this case, the "someone" is Kath, and she's only too happy to oblige. Quicker than she can mumble "come and get it," she's got her Sudden Guest pinned on the couch, and out come the Goodies. They should have called this one The Cheek-n-Boob Chronicles; there's enough show-and-tell in this play to satisfy the hungriest Saturday Night Voyeur, man or woman.
Just when things are waxing their steamiest, in strides Ed, a wealthy Fleet Street entrepreneur (played by Alan Husiman) whose passion for young stallions is even more powerful than his disdain for the ladies --including sister Kath. Suddenly, Sloane is the switch-hitting center of attention, and he couldn't be happier with his doubled-barreled dilemma. Brother Ed may detest his sister -- her lowbrow demeanor and slovenly ways are a constant embarrassment to him -- but he's not beneath using her as bait in his fishing expedition. It's Open Season on studs, and Ed is out to bag his limit.
One alarming complication in this openly bisexual frolic is the presence of the dazed and bumbling papa Kemp, played by Dewitt Hardy. Kemp may be broken down, near-sighted and hermitic, but he's no dummy. Father has a secret, and that little piece of information -- volatile as a cherry bomb in a church basement -- will turn Ed and Kath into Daddy's little pit bulls. When all is said and done, nearly everyone has the pleasure of Entertaining Mr. Sloane -- everyone, it seems, but Ed.
"Entertaining Mr. Sloane" was first performed in 1964 at the New Arts Theatre, where it won the London Critics' "Variety" award as the best play of the year. Critics who saw the performance on Broadway the following season greeted it with contempt, but the play continued to find audiences, and frequently it earned both critical and popular acclaim. Performed since then in several countries -- it was banned in South Africa -- "Mr. Sloane" has been alternately vilified and venerated by critics around the world.
Orton's play may be full of rampant sexuality, hilarious double entendres and satirical gems, but just beneath the surface of the laugh lines lurks a profound critique of British culture as it appeared to him in the '60s. In the poisonous, often twisted world of Mr. Sloane, everyone one lays claim to principles but few if any exercise them in their daily lives. Exploitation and duplicity abound, but Ed in particular is the very model of shameless expedience. He's reprehensible because the very behavior he so viciously condemns in his sister -- getting what you want, when you want it, one way or another -- is at the heart of his own selfish approach to human relationships. Like the proverbial politician, Ed will say anything to get what he wants, and he needs a lot more than money to slake his thirst.
Mr. Sloane may be a malodorous cad, but his only apparent sin, at least in the beginning, is his failure to reveal his motives. That, of course, is because he has something terrible to hide. Ed, on the other hand, tries to keep up appearances at all cost, even when his subterfuge hurts the people around him. The most honest character in the play is Kath. The woman just plain likes sex and wants her satisfaction -- no apologies necessary. Her character is disturbing because, in a world that's dominated by the stifling double standard, she has to engage in dehumanizing duplicities of her own simply to live the life she wants to live.
Costumes for this production, designed as always by Langlois himself, are sensational. Mr. Sloane's all-leather ensemble -- to brother Ed's everlasting pleasure, he's wrapped from head to toe in black and dripping with zippers -- is a magnificent piece of work. The set, built around tattered rugs, dingy curtains and a broken-down couch that takes a real beating in the seduction scene -- is straightforward and effective.
Evidence of Langlois' directorial skills can be found, as usual, nearly everywhere in this production. Intelligent blocking contributed enormously to the telling of the story of Mr. Sloane. Few characters are developed as fully and convincingly in Seacoast area productions as the characters in Edward Langlois' plays, and in "Mr. Sloane," the characters are finely crafted.
The one discernible weakness in the play may have been the lack of uniformity in the emotional intensity of the characters. In the role of Ed, Alan Huisman was poised, articulate and suitably urbane, even when his conduct was diabolical. That was a reasonable approach to the role, and he handled the challenge effectively. But compared to the often hyperbolic physical acting of Jewel Davis as Kath -- at times, Davis' intensely animated approach to her character was almost slapstick -- Huisman appeared to be cool, detached and occasionally even diffident on stage.
Dewitt Hardy as Kemp conducted himself with the same sort of understated detachment. The result was that Hardy, like Huisman, seemed on occasion to be less than fully engaged emotionally in his role. Had the characters of Ed and Kemp been played with more vigor, and had the character of Kath been reigned in by reducing the frequency of her stage histrionics -- the balance would have been more achievable.
In the role of Mr. Sloane, Chris Curtis was impressively in command of his character. From start to finish, we were allowed to know just what Sloane was like and -- because of his extensive vocabulary of facial expressions -- just what he was thinking. He was also best in scene after scene at connecting with the actions and motivations of the characters around him. Jewel Davis was just as thorough in her understanding of the role of Kath.
"Entertaining Mr. Sloane" is among the rarest of comedies -- an uproariously funny script that's loaded with sophisticated ideas and intellectual fire. You won't see this play very often north of Boston because few directors have the courage to produce it and few actors have the courage to act in it. We need to applaud Jewel Davis, Alan Huisman, Chris Curtis and Dewitt Hardy for their devotion to their work. Actors of their caliber and dedication are a major reason for the respect area theatre-goers have for the Edwin Booth. They're hard workers and chance-takers who have the drive to bring difficult roles to life in an otherwise cautious, politically correct theatre community. With Edward Langlois and his troupe in charge of things, Dover may yet come to be seen as the proud epicenter of serious drama here in the Seacoast.
Joe Orton's intelligent, nose-thumbing comedy "Entertaining Mr. Sloane" will appear through October 22nd at the Edwin Booth Theatre, 286 Central Avenue in Dover, near City Hall Market. Show times are Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 PM and Sundays at 7:30 PM. To reserve tickets call 603-750-3243. [Coming early in November at the Edwin Booth: the silent film masterpiece "Phantom of the Opera."]