Theater Review: La Bête @ the Arden
Please note: This article is published as an archive copy from Philadelphia City Paper. My City Paper is not affiliated with Philadelphia City Paper. Philadelphia City Paper was an alternative weekly newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The last edition was published on October 8, 2015.
Generally, I like my comedies as I like my martinis — very dry.
Generally, I like my comedies as I like my martinis — very dry. La Bête is … well, not dry. In fact, it’s about as broad as broad gets. But, hey, that can be fun, too — especially in the hands of the superb comic actors in Arden’s company, deftly deployed by director Emmanuelle Delpech.
In David Hirson’s play, an homage to Molière, two rival actor-writers, Elomire and Valere, are pitted against each other. Not that it matters — this thread of a plot often disappears almost entirely.
You won’t mind, though — certainly not when Scott Greer takes to the stage (he’s Valere, the boorish one), in a virtuoso monologue that summons every shtick in his comedy playbook.
At moments like this, La Bête seems to be a vehicle for Greer, but to Delpech’s credit, the rest of the company — especially Ian Merrill Peakes and James Ijames — give equally richly textured, if quieter, performances. Peakes, in particular, delivers the verse (yes, the play follows that Molière convention) with exceptional panache.
In other featured roles, Amanda Schoonover and Dito van Reigersberg also get to strut their stuff. Hats off, as well, to the La Bête design team, who evoke 17th-century France so sumptuously.
Two caveats — the show goes on too long; and although Delpech and the delectable Schoonover fashion a gorgeously Chaplin-esque final image, the end of La Bête attempts to summon a gravitas that Hirson’s frothy script hasn’t earned.
Still, for fans of comic acting, La Bête is a must-see. With this playing downstairs at the Arden — and 1812’s marvelous Intimate Exchanges upstairs — plan to make a weekend of it.
La Bête, $39-$50, through Oct. 12, Arden Theatre Company, 40 N. Second St., 215-922-1122, ardentheatre.org.
