8/20/15

A  FABLE  at the Cherry Lane Theatre

(Seen June 8, 2014)


With a pot  pourri of Aesop and Brecht, among others, David Van Asselt has concocted a murky fable of the struggles between God and Satan for the soul of Everyman.  But this mixed bag of characters, events, and themes, comes across as gimmicky and pretentious. 

 And we don't really care about the human frailties of his Everyman character, Jonny, played with such reserve and low-key manner by Hubert Point-Du-Jour, as to make him void of personality.  And Samantha Soule is a more effective God(dess) than the pretentious and energetic Gordon Joseph Weiss's Satan (Luke).  Dawn-Lynn Gardner, Jonny's soul-mate, Claudia, is vivacious and often appealing.

Director Daniel Talbott's staging doesn't add any clarity to the muddled story, while Elizabeth Swado's monotonous "song and lyrics" add little to the tone or meaning of the script.

The cast is generally energetic and willing, but they are all caught in a hapless and hopeless fable!