The curtain rises not so much with a bang as with a belly flop in One Man, Two Guvnors, A Noise Within’s fun, new staging of Richard Bean’s broad, bawdy comedy set in pre-Beatles (ish) England. The play, adapted from a work by Carlo Goldoni, careens through slapstick, skiffle, and double-dealing with the grace of a man falling down a flight of stairs with his pants down — and loving every moment of it.
At its center is Kasey Mahaffy as Francis Henshall, a permanently peckish everycon whose desperate and constant hustle suddenly finds him working for two employers, each oblivious to the other. Cue the gleeful entanglement of secrets, non-marriages, disguises, deceptions, betrayals, door-slams, and implausible coincidences, stitched together with conveniently accidental fourth-wall breaches and a broad physical comedy that the English are particularly fond of—basically just a notch higher than Benny Hill.
Mahaffy, returning to the A Noise Within stage, delivers a performance of supple energy. Whether lunging for a sandwich, having a fist fight with himself, or managing the demands of his suspicious bosses, he brings a manic intelligence to a role that thrives on anarchy. His rapport with the audience — half-conspiratorial, half-confessional — provides a through line of smarmy charm and direction that steadies the play’s rapid-fire narrative.
The production, directed by Julia Rodriguez–Elliott and Geoff Elliott, is unapologetically boisterous. Their staging leans into the chaos, embracing the genre’s theatrical heritage with knowing winks and dizzying pace. There’s hardly a moment of quiet and the entire company seems to be operating on its own high-octane frequency.
Among the standout supporting performances is Cassandra Marie Murphy, as Pauline Clench, whose character’s wide-eyed innocence (though no one is innocent) plays against the show’s web of deceit. Paul David Story, as an overwrought thespian with more ego than skill, hits the perfect note of hammy bravado. The rest of the ensemble — including the always-fetching Trisha Miller, Henri Lubatti, and Luis Kelly–Duarte — fill out this eccentric world with gusto, never afraid to chew the scenery when necessary. Let’s just leave that there.
Musically, the show hums. An onstage early ‘60s rock and roll band (not a “skiffle” group, despite the production’s claims) punctuates scenes with catchy, era-appropriate tunes, giving the production a backbeat to anchor its 1960s setting. Rod Bagheri’s musical direction is deft, and the band is as much a part of the production as the cast, offering energy and the more-than-occasional sound effect.
This is another stellar production from the Noise Within team, as part of their current “Songs From the Volcano” series. It’s not Shakespeare, and it’s not August Wilson, but it’s a fun, witty and brisk farce/romp/bash. Pick one.
“One Man, Two Guvnors” runs through September 28 at A Noise Within Theatre, 3352 Foothill Boulevard, Pasadena, CA. (626) 356-3121. www.anoisewithin.org.
