‘Twentieth Century’ is a riot on rails

Everything old, as they say, is new again, as hilariously illustrated

at the Newport Theater Arts Center, where the 1934 comedy “Twentieth

Century” has been exhumed and presented at a pace that will exhaust

21st century audiences.

Habitual theatergoers will recognize a number of characters and

situations from time gone by in Ken Ludwig’s recent adaptation of the

script by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur. Ludwig, who delights in

such blasts to the past as “Moon Over Buffalo” and “Lend Me a Tenor,”

has transformed this vintage comedy into a rib tickling, if

derivative, repast.

In “Twentieth Century” -- which is set aboard a train rumbling

from Chicago to New York in 1933 -- there are elements of “Light Up

the Sky,” “The Man Who Came to Dinner” and, most blatantly, “Kiss Me,

Kate” present and accounted for. The characters may be familiar, but

they’re immensely entertaining.

The twisting and turning plot is played out at breakneck speed

under the imaginative direction of Beverly Turner, who gives nine of

her 10 actors free reign at devouring the scenery, and they respond

hungrily. Only the train conductor (Corey Sprague) has anything that

might be labeled a straight role.

At the center of all this madness is brilliant but broke Broadway

producer Oscar Jaffe (Skip Blas), who’s on a mission to sign

Hollywood diva and former lover Lily Garland (Susan E. Taylor) to a

contract for his new project -- which he doesn’t have at the moment,

but which turns out to be a Broadway version of Germany’s Passion

Play (she would be Mary Magdalene).

Blas, channeling the spirit of the recently departed Howard Keel

in “Kiss Me, Kate,” prowls the stage with stealth and cunning,

deploying his commanding presence and booming voice to accomplish his

goals. But Taylor -- who glitters all over, including her sparkling

eyes -- is a formidable opponent, juggling Blas, her fawning agent

and present squeeze (Kyle Myers), and a rival producer also striving

for her autograph on a contract (Lewis Leighton, playing four

different characters).

Despite the ravenous appetites of the leading actors, there is

plenty of red comedic meat to go around, and the supporting players

attack it with a vengeance. Blas’ two assistants (Mitchell Nunn, in a

role right out of Damon Runyon, and Lee Anne Moore, approximating

Thelma Ritter) turn their subservient assignments into show stealers.

Then there’s the jittery doctor (Peter Stone) -- on an adulterous

venture with his lady friend (Chelsea Camille) -- who also has a play

for the producer’s consideration (as in “The Man Who Came to Dinner”)

and pops in at the most inopportune moments. So, for that matter,

does a religious nut (Reed Boyer) who plasters “repent” stickers

throughout the train and who may have the wherewithal for Blas’

Passion Play -- if the producer can do something about “that

Magdelene character.”

With a show so abounding in nuttiness, pace and timing are

paramount, and Turner’s troupe responds with zest and energy. It’s

not often that actors are licensed to ham it up at will, and these

rarely miss a trick -- particularly Myers’ jealous and jittery

nebbish, who pushes the envelope, even in this production.

Turner also designed the Newport set, an art deco delight touched

up by Andrew Otero and constructed by Eckmann Stage and Technical.

The costumes, by David Temple, splendidly reflect the period --

especially the scarlet stunner worn by Taylor in the second act.

“Twentieth Century” may have seven decades of miles on its

odometer, but Ludwig’s new version is a streamlined vehicle, ideally

suited for the talents of Newport’s director and cast.

* TOM TITUS reviews local theater. His reviews run Fridays.