TOM TITUS -- Theater Review

Theatergoers whose only experience with Anton Chekhov’s brooding,

introspective plays, such as “The Sea Gull” or “The Cherry Orchard,” may

be surprised to learn that the Russian playwright cut his creative teeth

on the lighter side of life.

Three such examples are on display at Orange Coast College in a

program titled “Anton Chekhov Short Comedies,” assembled by the students

of the OCC Repertory Theater. They range from slapstick to subtlety,

often intermingling the genres.

Two short pieces and one extended exercise comprise the program, with

the most thoroughly realized segment, “The Sneeze,” leading off the

evening. Completely wordless, the “playlet” is steeped in physical

comedy, depicting the plight of a nervous young fellow who, during a

night at the ballet, has the misfortune to sneeze on a fellow Russian of

an obviously higher station in life.

Angel Correa portrays the luckless sneezer, comically overcompensating

for his faux pas until the evening is thrown into pandemonium -- all

enacted to the music of the ballet, which he and his wife (Heather

Laylon) are ostensibly enjoying while seated behind the mogul (Frank

Miyashiro) and his companion (Angela Lopez).

Correa’s pantomimed histrionics are reminiscent of the silent movie

comics such as Harold Lloyd or Buster Keaton, and are consistently on

target. Miyashiro seethes effectively as the “sneezee,” with Laylon

contributing a marvelous bit of business as she carries on a continual

fracas with Correa while Lopez attempts to ignore the goofy antics around

her. Director Sean F. Gray contributes a clever cameo as an usher.

Miyashiro returns for a one-man gig in “On the Harmfulness of

Tobacco,” directed by faculty advisor Rick Golson. In this one, Miyashiro

expounds on virtually every conceivable topic except the subject of his

lecture, plaintively bemoaning his marital and financial woes while

bringing to mind the scrambled semantics of Professor Irwin Corey.

Closing the program is “The Bear,” a rather overdone offering

involving a widow (Isabella Melo), her servant (Correa again, this time

as a doddering old man) and the stern citizen (Ryan Gray) who comes to

collect a debt incurred by the late husband.

Directed by Ramsey Schlissel, the piece presents three nicely

established characters, then proceeds to run them in circles, covering

the same ground time and again. The outcome probably is predictable, but

it’s not reached soon enough, even in a rather short play.

Melo has some well-crafted moments as the widow, and Gray wrestles

with the extended Chekhovian dialogue, which isn’t calculated to advance

his character. Again, Correa swipes his scenes with some inspired

foolishness.

Taken together, the pieces represent a valuable theatrical history

lesson, and the OCC students present them commendably. Their next project

probably should be Neil Simon’s “The Good Doctor,” a collection of

theater pieces based on Chekhov’s works.

* TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Daily Pilot.

FYI

WHAT: “Anton Chekhov Short Comedies”

WHERE: Orange Coast College Studio Theater, 2701 Fairview Road, Costa

Mesa

WHEN: Closing performances at 2 and 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday

COST: $6 or $7

CALL: (714) 432-5640, Ext. 1