The Roar of
the Greasepaint, The Smell of the Crowd
by Anthony
Newley and Leslie Bricusse
Sir (Douglas
Coler), The Kid (Nicole Juliette Libby) and
Cocky (Andy Meyers)
Nicole Juliette Libby, Rachel Somma, Douglas Coler,
Rebecca Mercer, Meryl Bezrutzyk, Megan Simard
Andy Meyers as Cocky
Douglas Coler as Sir
(Photos: Jan Somma-Hammell)
Greasepaint Roars
by
Karen Barrow – Off Off Broadway Online
The
Roar of the Greasepaint - The Smell of the
Crowd
Reviewed July 18, 2004
Sundog
Theatre at Stage One in Staten
Island
When social allegory is disguised
as vaudeville merriment, confusion and
chaos ensue.
Written about an era of extreme social
disparity, The Roar of the Greasepaint
The Smell of the Crowd , takes hold of
the stage with words and action, playing
tricks with language, physical humor, and
all types of musical conventions.
As with most satires,
Greasepaint appears entirely
nonsensical on its surface, telling the
story of Cocky, a British peasant forced to
play an improvisational game of hop-scotch
with his traveling companion, Sir, an upper
class snob. Along with their five
companions, immature street urchins, these
two hem and haw about the rules of the
game, never advancing far past square one.
If the audience does not seek to
understand the deeper conflict between the
"haves" and the "have nots," this musical
attempts to explain, they are quickly left
confused and only slightly amused by the
ensuing antics. Act two, however, more
readily reveals the general paradoxical
nature of class differences – the more the
upper class imposes its will upon the
peasants without question, the harder it
becomes for anyone to question their
authority.
It is Cocky’s eventual realization, that he
has as much right to make up the rules to
the impromptu game as does Sir. In fact,
only by standing up and finally taking
control of the game, is Cocky able to
advance and reach his goals. However, just
as Cocky gains control of the situation, he
begins to order Sir according to personal
whims - showing the corrupting nature of
power.
With this message hidden until the final
moments, it is up to the engaging cast to
keep the audience wondering what the point
of the chaos is. This success can rest
solely on the shoulders of Andy Meyers,
who, as Cocky, carries the heart of the
show in his powerful voice and command of
the stage. He plays off of the stiffer
Douglas Coler, Sir, by becoming the
emotional voice of the show. Coler, with an
inferior singing voice, speaks most of his
lyrics William Shatner-style, but he does
provide a bit of modern insight into the
play by inserting his own impersonations of
recent presidents while prancing around as
a political windbag.
The urchins, played in a range of
personalities from social outcast to
curious, little girl, have so much energy
that sometimes you wonder how they just
don’t pop out of their skin. They are the
court jesters in Sir’s domain, mocking and
ridiculing Cocky during every break in the
tightly-seamed dialogue.
Greasepaint, written by Anthony
Newley, contains old-time musical favorites
that have been recorded numerous times. The
music was written so that it could stand
alone so by contemporary standards it
occasionally feels poorly timed to the
action. However, the musical numbers are
well staged and display the wondrous
talents of both the urchins and Meyers.
The bedlam that is Greasepaint
is more slapstick than revolutionary. Yes,
the message of the need for social equality
is apparent, but the play is too dated to
be taken as a true satire by today's
audience. Unfortunately, most miss out on
the fast paced jokes and thick turns of
language that flood the stage. However, the
amusement that Greasepaint does
offer is well above its ticket
price.