Word: bailiff
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Almost as earnest is the father of judge shows, Joseph Wapner. From 1981 to 1993, his sessions of The People's Court entertained with silliness, not heated conflict. On Judge Wapner's Animal Court, the 78-year-old magistrate is back with his trusty bailiff, Rusty Burrell, only this time every case involves animals. Wapner's careful, evidence-obsessive yet laid-back style is only enhanced by a caged chow sitting in front of the defendant. "These are very serious cases, and people get very emotional about their animals," he says, "more emotional than they do about money or people...
That's easy for him to do, for Dreverhaven is an all-powerful figure. He is a bailiff enriching himself by collecting everyone's bad debts, and his tentacles reach everywhere. He is never too busy, though, to keep a baleful eye on his son, eventually ensnaring the lad in debt and squeezing him mercilessly for the money...
...member of the audience--is forced to stand trial for the murders in Hamlet. The play begins as Judge Titorelli (Max-Joseph Montel '01) takes the stand, while on stage behind him a troupe of actors pantomime Shakespeare's bloody plot. In search of a guilty party, the menacing Bailiff (Young Lee '99) whisks Roulleau out of his seat among the audience and into the witness stand. Prosecuting Counselor Clamence (Claire Farley '01) accuses him of complicity in the actors' murders: by doing nothing to prevent the players' deaths, she argues, Roulleau is no less culpable than a bystander...
...keeping with its premise, Groundlings offers many opportunities for audience participation. Roulleau repeatedly asks the audience to storm out in protest, or to help him overcome the Bailiff. At times, the actors seemed hesitant as to how to respond when no brave audience member was forthcoming. However, the audience's unwillingness to intercede actually strengthened the play's premise, further emphasizing the audience's guilt...
...acting is competent, with Young Lee giving a particularly hilarious performance as the Bailiff, who marches up and down the aisles harassing audience members, occasionally pausing to whack Roulleau with his baton. His presence, at once menacing and amusing, keeps the audience on its toes. As the theatergoer who must suffer for our sins, Roulleau at first nonchalantly flouts the court's authority, making the audience wonder whether he really has been chosen as a random victim. Farley brings a slightly over-the-top vehemence to the role of Clamence...