Little Theatre takes audience on 'screwball' joyride

By Melanie Barker
Correspondent

VIRGINAI BEACH

"Twentieth Century," the season opener at the Little Theatre of Virginia Beach, is a joyride back to 1930s "screwball" comedy.

Named for its setting aboard the Twentieth Century Limited, a luxury passenger train that once ran between Chicago and New York, the play first debuted on Broadway in 1932.

Writers Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur ("The Front Page") fashioned their script from an unproduced play by Charles Bruce Millholland and later adapted it for a 1934 film version starring John Barrymore and Carole Lombard.

The Little Theatre of Virginia Beach production employs the newest adaptation of "Twentieth Century," an update by playwright Ken Ludwig ("Moon over Buffalo," "Lend Me a Tenor") which debuted on Broadway in 2004 with Alec Baldwin and Anne Heche in the lead roles.

As presented here, the Ludwig version retains all the essential elements of 1930s "screwball" comedy. Rocky relationships, smart (and sexually frank) dialogue, eccentric characters, and madcap situations resulting from incorrect assumptions and unshared information are played to full comic effect.

The story centers on egomaniacal Broadway impresario Oscar Jaffe, who has produced nothing but flops since his former protege and leading lady, Lily Garland, left him to become a major Hollywood movie star. Learning that she will be traveling on the Twentieth Century Limited, Jaffe finagles his way into the adjoining compartment and concocts a plan to lure her back to his theater and his bedroom.

John Cauthen plays Jaffe with the right amount of swagger. He's pompous but not arrogant; grandiose but still likeable. The enthusiasm Cauthen brings for Jaffe's wild and crazy ideas is infectious and makes us root for him.

In the role that cemented Lombard's status as a leading Hollywood film comedienne, Rachael Lang is a standout. As Lily Garland, also known as "Mildred Plotka," Lang juggles her character's uncouth origins with the glamorous celebrity she's become.

Another dimension is revealed in a scene where Lily reads from a Somerset Maugham play: here, Lily's a trained actress demonstrating her craft. It's a showy but difficult role, and Lang makes the most of it, delivering a rich, multilayered performance.

Seasoned actors Jim Mitchell and Ann Heywood are excellent as Jaffe's assistants. Mitchell smartly underplays his role as the tippling Irish strongman, while Heywood subtly conveys her character's weariness with Jaffe's antics.

There are some nice juxtapositions among the rest of the cast, notably Bill Armstrong's all-business conductor set against Wes Dew's animated, eager porter and his double role as the suave but clueless detective.

Joyce Gaus' costumes are right out of the 1930s, from the wide-shouldered suits and loose-fitting trousers to Lily's full-length, flowing gowns. The minimalist set design from director Robin Chapman also evokes the era, with its clean lines and armless, art deco chairs and sofa seats.

One problem arises with the staging: Excessive blackouts as the action shifts between the three compartments repeatedly slows the momentum.

Still, the solid cast delivers the sparkling dialogue and zany action that drives this "screwball" train home. With "Twentieth Century," the Little Theatre of Virginia Beach starts its new season headed down the right track.

Melanie Barker, melanbark@cox.net