Loot
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Cititour.com Review
Joe Orton’s off-kilter comedy Loot still has the power to shock – and to have audiences roaring with laughter. That’s no mean feat for an almost 50-year-old piece that could easily seem dated, not to mention outdated. If you don’t believe me, head on down to the Lucille Lortel Theater for Red Bull Theater’s spirited production of this too-rarely-seen play.
Admittedly, this is a far simpler production visually than some previous Red Bull offerings, although designer Narelle Sissons’ unit set of a 1960s British living room and Sara Jean Tosetti’s period costumes are spot-on. As well, it appears that director (and company artistic director) Jesse Berger isn’t yet completely at home with the tricky rhythms of Orton’s ever-clever dialogue. Nonetheless, he does manage to guide his very game cast into embracing all the absurdity of Orton’s high-wire act of a script.
Plotwise, it’s almost best not to know too much about “Loot,” except that it’s set during the funeral day of one Mrs. McLeavy and involves her coffin. The personae are her upstanding widower (Jarlath Conroy), her none-too-bright, bisexual son Hal (an excellent Nick Westrate), his partner-in-crime Dennis (a rather underwhelming Ryan Garbayo), her not-as-sweet-as-she-seems nurse Fay (a delicious Rebecca Brooksher), and Truscott (the often hilarious Rocco Sisto), a bullying, vaguely idiotic policeman who comes by the McLeavy home to investigate a recent bank robbery and gets a lot more than he bargained for.
Part of what makes “Loot” so extraordinary – and still so incendiary to some – is Orton’s frequent attacks on the Catholic church, the British monarchy, and the role of authority (specifically the police), and how deftly these barbs are interspersed with his singular brand of one-liners and non-sequiturs. As a result, one’s mouth is often agape one second and then letting out a guffaw the split second immediately afterwards.
So, steal the time to see “Loot” – you may not get another chance anytime soon.
By Brian Scott Lipton
Visit the Site
http://www.redbulltheater.com/Productions
Cast
Rebecca Brooksher, Eric Martin Brown, Jarlath Conroy, Ryan Garbayo, Rocco Sisto, Nick Westrate
Open/Close Dates
Opening 1/9/2014
Closing 2/9/2014
Box Office
866-811-4111
Theatre Info
Lucille Lortel Theatre
121 Christopher Street
New York, NY 10014
Map
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