Word: butlers
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ALTHOUGH it's considered a solo effort, Eric Idle's 1981 play Pass the Butler, like Terry Gilliam's Brazil, was written much in the chaotic spirit of Monty Python. The trouble is any devoted Python fan would much rather see John Cleese, Graham Chapman and the other Python wankers in the roles than any other actors. This Dunster House production comes a close second, providing a sprightly, energetic, and funny night of entertainment...
Idle proves to be as adept a writer as the more well-known members of the English comedy troupe, mixing genres with ease. Pass the Butler is get this, a political drawing room satire of the English upper crust the turns into a murder mystery as well as a soap opera parody. Idle uses the opportunity to take pot shots Americans, the British government, and the class system while moralizing on euthanasia...
...Butler opens with the imminent death of Sir Robert Charles, who is the current Minister of Defense and the patriarch of a poor but prestigious family. Having recently had a heart attack, Sir Robert is more dead than alive, surviving only with the aid of various life-support machines. Lady Charles has decided to put him out of his misery and pull the plug--much to the pleasure of heir apparent Hugo and his twin sister, Annabel. Planning ahead, the family has placed him in a coffin right in the middle of the Charles estate drawing room. The youngest...
...Especially notable are David Schrag's portrayal of Hugo, the snide and arrogant eldest son; Bill Salloway as the confused but moral police inspector who tries to sort out the Charles family; and Donal Logue as the "Buddhist skinhead" and youngest son. Donald Carleton plays the wise-cracking butler, and despite his occasionally stilted delivery he often brings down the house because Idle has given him the best lines...
...deaf person who reads lips with a yellow-highlighting marker. But he was too much of a Brian-two-note--varying incessantly and to no great effect on such tired themes as polyester leisure seats and mobile homes--and couldn't capture the audience. Master of Ceremonies Brett Butler tried hard, but was undistinguished. Many of her lines were no better than this one she told to a patron in the front row: "That is some tan you have there--we're talking melanoma city...