Diamond in the Rough

THEATER

Rough Crossing

by Tom Stoppard

music by Andre Previn

directed by Chip Rossetti

at the Quincy House JCR

through January 16

The poster says: "Rough Crossing by Tom Stoppard. Music by Andre Previn." But don't expect a Broadway crowd pleaser. Rough Crossing isn't really a musical. It's not really by Tom Stoppard either. But billing aside, the production at Quincy House is an enjoyable rendition of an intelligent farce.

Rough Crossing, Stoppard's adaptation of Ferenec Molnar's classic Play at the Castle, has all of the usual Stoppard word wizardry as well as some wonderfully insipid musical numbers. On board the Italian Castle two writers scramble to put together their musical comedy before the boat reaches New York. In their way are a composer who can't speak, an actor who can't act, a prima donna with whom both the composer and the actor are in love, and an indefatigable porter. As they attempt to find an ending, the two writers offer typically Stoppard commentary on the artificial structure of the musical--both the one they're writing as well as the one they are in.

An especially talented cast is the main attraction of this production. As the hilariously affected Natasha Navratilova, Janine Poreba is a marvelous Russian femme fatale. Her performance is just overdone enough to maintain the farcical edge, never lapsing into cliched corn. Chip Rossetti gives a pat, almost smug performance as playwright Sandor Turai. Turai is almost a straight parody of the Author in Pirandello's Six Characters in Search of the Character and while studied, Rossetti is more than amusing enough to keep us engaged.

David Javerbaum's remarkably flexible facial expressions give a special touch of hilarity to his performance as the love-stricken boy composer Adam Adam. The character is a sweetly doleful soul, but with a volatility that Javerbaum never quite conveys. This odd harmony of personalities is rounded out with an even-handed performance by Chris Scully as Alex Gal, Turai's very American collaborator.

Danny Shivakumar almost steals the show with his charming portrayal of Dvornicek the porter. He constantly interrupts the main action and both abets and confounds Turais's plans. The role of Dvornicek is necessary both to sketch and flesh out the lines this play keep crossing between a Noel Coward-style romp and a post-modern mockery. The first scene is the weakest and least lively, probably because it is the most "straight" and Stoppard's script seems confined at first by the boundaries he had set for himself. The show really begins in the second scene where the silly tunes become the perfect complement for the slippery dialogue. After a brief intermission the pace keeps up at a careless rate that borders on the chaotic.

This production could have benefited from a greater directorial vision. Rough Crossing is first and foremost a farce--something that is not always precisely realized in this version. While the direction is credited to Chip Rossetti, the staging seems largely determined by the individual actors. The show does finally come together but it would have been more coherent with firmer direction.

The backdrop for Rough Crossing is spare. The costumes and set are adequate, but not especially imaginative. For a play of this kind where the action flip-flops between the straight and satirical, a few more quirky details would have been appreciated. One creative touch was the addition of a piano player (in the original script Adam Adam plays the music) on stage. The Quincy House JCR may not be the best place to stage a show, especially when considering seating. Advice to the visually or vertically challenged: get there early.