Word: slapstick
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...obvious reason's, the challenge is not confronted all that often. The few companies that tackle it usually resort either to theater-as-carnival-spectacle (bolstering the endless wordplay with sight gags, the traditional devices with slapstick), to avant-grade-extremism, or to massive cutting. The summer loebies have tried a little of all three, but director Gregg Lachow applies the experimentation with a temperate hand. His greatest accomplishment is leaving the staging simple enough so that the occasional striking line has room to breathe, and the play's fascinating structure emerges from its weight of words. In so doing...
Superior even to the best of the group musical numbers are the near-slapstick comedy routines, especially those revolving around Steve Hill. Jon Linden and Richard Topol. Hill, equipped with one of the biggest, ugliest afros you're likely to encounter in the Square this summer, plays Bert Parks in a needle-sharp spoof of the Miss America pageant. The parody climaxes with the funky "Black Boys/White Boys," which addresses the sublime pleasures of interracial intercourse. Unfortunately, most of the narrative bits do not mesh as well with the musical portion of the show. Yazbeck and Clarks have...
...major flaw in the film's handling of this theme is its tone. Horovitz seems slightly confused by his chosen form: the comedy-drama. Allowing the film to teeter between pathos and slapstick, he treats the material too lightly to evoke a poignant response from the audience, yet not satirically enough to inspire much laughter. Moreover, the overly cheerful conclusion results from a painfully contrived plot twist...
...acting is a great strength of this production. Hallowell's Charles is an admittedly chilled-out aristocratic sort, clearly amused at life. Browning's Elvira is striking and convincingly deceased-looking, and the timing of her barbs is deadly. Mary Powers makes a noble effort at the rather pointless slapstick Coward has unfortunately saddled the maid with...
...made 10 a box-office success. Edwards stages one nightclub scene starring Norma (Lesley Ann Warren). King's old girlfriend a Chicago chorus girl with a Brooklyn accent. Singing a paean to the Windy City. Norma struts her stuff and the camera zooms in close enough to count hairs. Slapstick routines, the inevitable waiter with a large cream pie, also form a backdrop for the main action. A few yuks fall flat but most of the jokes sustain a low chuckle coming from the audience...