THEATER REVIEWS : A Good ‘Lover’ and Moving ‘Music’ : There Are Few Missteps in Fullerton College Productions of Rarely Seen Works by Pinter, Kopit

If the avid theatergoer is vigilant, now and then there’s an opportunity to catch rarely produced plays. Two such works are playing in repertory through Sunday at Fullerton College: Harold Pinter’s “The Lover” and Arthur Kopit’s “Chamber Music.”

Both are produced, designed and directed by students in a sink-or-swim consortium and they stay afloat--with qualifications--quite well.

Pinter’s “The Lover” fares better. The playwright’s dead-serious joke about a marriage that has been spiced with a bit of role-playing, begins with a typically mysterious question by husband Richard (Bill Forant) as he bids his wife Sarah (Kasey Michelle Ogle) adieu for the day: “Is your lover coming today?” Yes, he is, she says, so please come home late.

It’s no secret early on that Richard is, in fact, that lover, Max, who pops by during the afternoon. Richard and Sarah calmly discuss each other’s significant others, her Max and his “passionate whore.” Until, that is, Richard decides to change the rules, destroy the game and see if the marriage will work without it. Or is it just a new game?

Like all of Pinter, his sense of mystery, of the continual unknown, is at the core of this play. Director E. Brian Silvas understands that from beginning to end, as do Forant and Ogle.

There are a few moments in the middle where Silvas’ sense of fun is less than mysterious than it should be, but those moments pass quickly. He and his actors capture the essence of Pinter, and that’s not an easy task.

Silvas’ one misstep is allowing Rick Garcia, in the small role of a randy milkman, to make the most of his brief appearance by overacting shamefully. The character is Pinter’s red herring, to fool the audience for a moment, a point made clearer when played straight. But that’s the only serious flaw in a very respectable production.

*

Arthur Kopit’s kaleidoscopic “Chamber Music” can be taken two ways: A director can play it seriously and let it get its own laughs within Kopit’s philosophizing, or can play it all out for laughs hoping the playwright’s points come through.

Director Patrick Goddard chose the latter for this production, with an impish comic style that misses a few of the points but highly entertains its audience.

Goddard has a flair for sight gags, and his timing is delicious. And he has cast the play with actresses who generally know where their director’s laughs are. The setting is a meeting room in a mental hospital, where eight female inmates are having their regular “business meeting,” this time to discuss what to do about an alleged planned attack by the inmates of the men’s ward.

Of course, each one thinks she is either a famous feminist, suffragette or a woman who made history, from Joan of Arc to Amelia Earhart to Gertrude Stein. The play is about the battle for women’s dignity and rights, for which, Kopit says, these women are perfectly capable of devouring one of their own.

The best performance, because it is anchored deepest in reality, is Lisa Rohr’s Earhart. Rohr sees beyond Kopit’s words into a touching characterization that makes a point of its own, apart from Kopit’s. Bidalia Albanese is a very funny Queen Isabella I, particularly when she’s sitting passively, posing and preening, but also in her violently kinetic monologue about helping Columbus. Aime Wolf’s Pearl White is a bit overdrawn, but she manages a haunting look.

Edward Garcia’s sound design is very effective in both productions, but the lighting design by “technical supervisor” Jim Book is too bright for both.

* “The Lover” & “Chamber Music,” Theatre Arts Department, Fullerton College, 321 E. Chapman Ave., Fullerton. Nightly, 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. (plays alternate times each night; call for schedule). Ends Sunday. $3 per play. (714) 871-8101. Running time for both plays: 2 hours.

“The Lover” Bill Forant: Richard Kasey Michelle: Ogle Sarah Rick Garcia: John, the Milkman

“Chamber Music” Lisa Rohr: Woman in Aviatrix’s Outfit

Bidalia Albanese: Woman in Queenly Spanish Garb

Aime Wolf: Girl in Gossamer Dress

Amber Jackson: Woman Who Plays Records

Melissa Yearta: Woman in Safari Outfit

Danielle Molina: Woman With Notebook

Beth Ricketson: Woman in Armor

Joy McCoubrey: Woman with Gavel

A Fullerton College Theatre Arts Department production. Plays by Harold Pinter & Arthur Kopit. Directed by E. Brian Silvas & Patrick Goddard. Lights: Jim Book. Sound: Edward Garcia.