Word: dudgeoned
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Never has a pinkie been crooked with more elaborate Lahr-di-da, or sexagenarian toes been more agile in the choreography of cowardice. In one panic, Lahr scrambles halfway up the proscenium arch and hangs there, glaring down in 20-foot-high dudgeon at the scoundrels who have treed him. Throughout the musical, he emits those lecherous gurgles, dying squawks and goosy yelps that used to be the cheek-in-tongue counterpoint to vaudeville, and burlesque. What makes Lahr the king of clowns is, above all, his masterly word-and-action timing, as when he off-handedly tosses...
Except for this overdone portrayal, the characterizations are penetrating. Mark Bramhall's movements and changes of tone demonstrate Dick Dudgeon's energetic honesty. His smile is perfect: it can soften into kindness, flash a satiric comment on his own words, or reveal a spirited man who impetuously offers to sacrifice his life. Micheal Ehrhardt plays General Burgoyne, a character whose ability to mock an absurd situation resembles Dick's; he is impressive in his dignity, biting in his wit. Even Pamela Harris's opening gesture foreshadows the careful details of her performance: she awakens, and consciously assumes her dour, self...
...characterizations benefit from revealing gestures. They enhance Laura Esterman's fine performance as the minister's wife; she smooths her skirt self-consciously as she utters smug platitudes--and grasps her husband'; sleeve distractedly after falling in love with Dick Dudgeon...
Koelb has blocked the action to produce tableaux which highlight the play's themes. Some of these capture and frame a perfect moment of deception. For example, Mrs. Dudgeon is more concerned about the disposition of her property than the death of her husband; then she enters the room in slow-paced mourning and all relatives rise and bow their heads in sympathy...
Through its sharp angles, John Anderson's set of Mrs. Dudgeon's home captures the harshness of the woman herself. All sets appear in the center of the stage with a large "outdoors" area around them; the action outside the rooms often contrast with that within, underlining the ceremonies of hypocrisy. Shaw has slaughtered a number of sacred cows--and throughout this performance, the audience delights in their death...