Comedy, Cranked Up

T2 ‘stops at nothing’ in ‘One Man, Two Guvnors’

Hair pulls, ear grabs, running into walls and silly fights are all part of the comedy of "One Man, Two Guvnors."

The farce will be on stage Thursday through Sept. 21 at TheatreSquared in Fayetteville. The first show of the theater company's ninth season is loosely based on "The Servant of Two Masters" by Carlo Goldoni, director Amy Herzberg says. In the 1960s setting of the show, Francis, portrayed by Chris Crawford, is out of work and hungry. He is hired by two employers to be their assistant, but he "can't let either one of those guvnors know about the other," she says. He hasn't eaten in a long time and does whatever he can to figure out how to get food, along with juggling these two masters.

FAQ

‘One Man, Two Guvnors’

WHEN — 7:30 p.m. Thursday & Aug. 29; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Aug. 30; 2 & 7 p.m. Aug. 31; and again Sept. 4-21

WHERE — Nadine Baum Studios, 505 W. Spring St. in Fayetteville

COST — $15-$38; $10 for patrons younger than 30

INFO — 443-5600 or theatre2.org

Crawford, 32, says that Francis always has the best intentions but doesn't know how to go about getting what he needs. He gets himself and everyone else into all sorts of messes.

"He's just a genuinely good person who just absolutely can't see anything further than the sandwich that's right in front of his face," Crawford says.

Crawford, who was also in very physically funny shows "Boeing Boeing" and "Noises Off" at TheatreSquared, says he has a running joke with Herzberg and artistic director Robert Ford "that they call me whenever they need someone to fall down stairs."

The physical comedy in the production "definitely goes the farthest" of any show performed at TheatreSquared, Herzberg says. D.C. Wright, fights and physical comedy director, says the show is very heavily rooted in commedia dell'arte, a comedic style from 16th century Italy. Physical bits used today, such as slapstick and pratfalls, all came from commedia dell'arte. "One Man, Two Guvnors" is full of sight gags that are "just ridiculous in their silliness," Wright says. The characters have the same wants and needs as normal people do, "except theirs are exaggerated to the point that they become ridiculous."

"That is kind of the fun of the show. It's so over the top and crazy," Wright says.

There is a high level of difficulty to portray the physical comedy in this show, he adds. "A lot of people don't realize that comedy is very hard, especially this type of comedy."

Physical comedy is very specific about what is done, how it is done, and most importantly, when it is done. Wright says it takes a lot of talent, experience and rehearsal. He adds that actors work to craft each moment to make it "the funniest version of that moment." One of his favorite physical comedy moments in the show involves an 87-year-old character named Alfie, played by much younger actor Seth Andrew Bridges, getting hit with cricket bats, falling down and being smashed in the face with doors multiple times.

"The violence is crafted in such a way that you're able to laugh at it the whole time," he says.

Rehearsals typically run eight hours a day, six days a week, and the 11-member cast is adept at this type of comedy and understand how to make it work, Wright says.

Herzberg jokes that "rehearsal is taking twice as long as it needs to because we all have to stop and laugh all the time."

"It's humor that will stop at nothing to delight the audience."

NAN What's Up on 08/22/2014

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