Word: shaw
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...Devil's Disciple. The Summer School Repertory Theater inaugurates its three-show season with a very funny production of George Bernard Shaw's unwitting tribute to the U.S. bicentennial. John Glover, all flamboyant charm in the title role, and James Valentine, mugging uproariously as "Gentlemanly Johnny" Burgoyne, head a distinguished professional cast...
...Devil's Disciple. The Summer School Repertory Theater inaugurates its three-show season with a very funny production of George Bernard Shaw's unwitting tribute to the U.S. bicentennial. John Glover, all flamboyant charm in the title role, and James Valentine, mugging uproariously as "Gentlemanly Johnny" Burgoyne, head a distinguished professional cast...
John Glover as Dudgeon certainly does his best, remaining comfortable with Shaw's script even when the script itself lets him down. Exuding energy and contempt for the fusty and hypocritical Puritanism of his elders, Glover makes his entrance early in the action with dramatic flair, twirling his cape flamboyantly, strutting around the stage and insulting everyone in sight. Edelman's spitfire pacing and clever use of props, together with Glover's easy stage presence, make this scene--in which the relatives gather to hear Dudgeon pere's will--a comic gem that sets the tone for the rest...
...Devil's Disciple, Shaw's misogyny is in plain view; the two leading female characters are depicted mainly as obstacles to the fulfillment of worthwhile male goals. While Martha Farrar as Mrs. Dudgeon satisfactorily avoids caricaturing the crotchety old woman, Wendy Fulton is less successful as Judith Anderson...
Besides, while the bicentennial is a spectacle that begs our involvement, Shaw cunningly obliges us to distance ourselves from the illusion he presents. At one point, after Swindon, in the face of disastrous war news, declares his faith in his countrymen's devotion. Burgoyne cuttingly asks him if he's writing a melodrama. With all this self-consciousness, it's not too surprising that The Devil's Disciple never quite compels our belief. But neither does it matter, since the Summer School Repertory Theater, inaugurating its season with polish and style, so winningly compels our laughter...