Mum and Shah's Oddball Characters, Unusual Plot Keep Audience Engaged

THEATER

Mum and Shah

by Colby Devitt and Marc Zegans

directed by Colby Devitt

at the Lyric Stage

playing through Sunday July 23

The reincarnation of two great lovers in a pair of palace monkeys is an unusual plot idea in itself.

Of course, when a pelican who has been changed into a man and kung fu diva who wields a broom are just two of the zany people who help them figure out who they are, things are bound to get a little strange and a lot complicated.

Mum and Shah, a physical theater production conceived and directed by Colby Devitt, keeps its audience engaged by continuously shifting the center of attention between the oddball set of characters caught up in the unusual plot.

However, the complexity of the production means that no character holds the audience's attention for very long. Luckily, as the interest in one character begins to fade, another actor catches the audience's eye and holds on to the production's momentum, creating an ebb and flow that oddly enhances the production's own internal rhythm.

Rhythm is the dominating factor of Mum and Shah; the characters speak in poetry and move in dance. Even the music and the lighting help sustain the cadence. The audience is lulled into the performance's magic and dreamlike aura.

The success of Mum and Shah is the production's surprising cohesiveness, a credit to Devitt. The play draws together monkeys, a cardboard couple and a seductress with electric whips (among other characters) based on poems from the book Catch! by Mark Zegans, a doctoral candidate at the Kennedy school of Government.

Each character shines at some point in the performance. The chorus of monkeys played by members of the Jamnastics Performance Team give the performance a kick start: their energy and excitement comes through in both their lines and their movement.

Thimblerigger, played by Julie A. Terrell, is the next character to electrify the stage. As the reincarnation of Mum's lust and anger, she is so dynamic one expect a shower of sparks every time her whip lashes out or she stops just short of trampling a monkey. Her boldness and sharpness are terrific.

The title characters captivate the audience when Shah, played by Robert Larkin, romantically approaches Mum, played by Danielle L. DiDio. Larkin's use of poetry to win his love's affection is a demonstration of the power words can have when used well . DiDio's reluctance and then grace in joining Shah is lovely to watch, and her face glows with affection.

When she joins Joe Wex (Pelican Man) in a playful flirtation, both he and Nikki Sell (Fat-Black-Knit-Sweater-Lady) are given a chance to let the good-naturedness of their characters shine.

It takes some time for Cardboard Woman and Cardboard Man (played by Master Bow Sim Mark and Michael J. Nuell, respectively) to become more interesting than their two-dimensional names would suggest. However, in their reconciliation scene, the two burst out of their flatness.

Suddenly, the two have a tangible relationship, and Cardboard Man becomes endearing as he sings to his wife and wins her back. Mark succeeds in conveying her own emotions without dialogue: her movements are as expressive as they are fluid.

The cast of characters has only one weakness: Master of Ceremonies Zachary Karabell. He never lets the audience forget he is performing. His storytelling seems forced and he is acts the showman too self-consciously. Every movement is exaggerated, every line given too much weight. Only in the end, when he mouths the story with the characters who now remember who they are, does he cease to be ingratiating.

Despite the generally talented and energetic cast, none of the characters manage to be interesting for the entire production. The last scene works only because it brings back all the characters who have been likeable at some point during the play.

The choreography of the production is solid and utilizes the imaginative sets and costumes well. The monkey chorus pulls off enough gymnastic stunts to win well-deserved applause from the audience.

The movements of the rest of the characters are appropriate as well. The Pelican Man is necessarily gawky, Thimblerigger is quick and agressive and Fat-Black-Knit-Sweater-Women's roundness is in her motions as well as her hula hoop and padded costume.

The text and the movements are synchronized so beautifully that the pairing never feels forced. Instead, it becomes a natural part of the onstage world.

The team of musicians adds of the magic" certain words are followed by the striking of a triangle, and instruments including drums and recorders set the mood. The lighting also works with the demands of an unusual set.

Mum and Shah could be worth seeing for its originality alone. It's not often a world-renown Tai Ch'i master (Mark) joins a gymnastic/hip-hop performance team in a play directed by someone trained as a mime.

But Mum and Shah is really worth seeing because it manages to create a kind of dreamworld and make it survive. Devitt says "magic is a way of seeing and a way of living in a world of diverse people and cultures."

InMum and Shah, she has created her own kind of magic.

Mum and Shah will play at the Lyric Stage this Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 8 p.m. Tickets are $15.