By By Elise Meyers

The most heinous sin that an actor can commit is to get caught acting. An actor is supposed to be the character they are portraying and not appear to be a person playing a character. This sin was committed several times last Thursday night during “The Lesson” at the West End Theatre, marring what “The Bald Soprano” made into a pleasant night at the theatre. Absurdist comedy is much harder than regular comedy and should only be publicly performed by those with the timing and the skill.

Despite the relatively empty theatre (roughly 20 altogether and a solid 15 when you subtract the house crew, reviewer, director and a couple who apparently wandered in searching for a dry place to publicly display their affection), the cast members did a commendable job carrying on as though there were a full house.

Since both plays are absurdist, they do not have traditional plot development to speak of. “The Bald Soprano” is essentially about a British couple from the country visiting friends in London. “The Lesson” is about a young pupil visiting a professor for tutoring, as the title implies.

In “The Bald Soprano,” Mike Drummey was excellent in the role of Mr. Smith. He handled Eugène Ionesco’s difficult dialogue like a pro and brought credibility to the role, which other cast members lacked. Brittany Scott as Mrs. Martin was also deserving of praise. Not only is she entirely believable as a wife who forgets her own husband, she also looks incredibly like Reese Witherspoon in “Election.” Kyle Haggerty as the aforementioned husband is good, but does not match the energy and skill level of Drummy and Scott until the climax.

One of the weaker links in this otherwise great cast is Lisa Tosti. She seemed unable to play her quirky roles without appearing as though she was reciting lines. She tended to talk very quickly and inarticulately, often slurring. Any actor can be eclipsed by a stronger one when they are acting opposite each other. This is punctuated by the repetition of dialogue first spoken by Tosti, which is later repeated by Scott at the end. In Scott’s rendition the audience can believe that these lines are being thought through and spoken freely and not, as in Tosti’s rendition, being recited from a script.

The cast of “The Lesson” also falls into this trap. Rachel Riendeau certainly looks the part of the young pupil, but her motives are unclear. Is she an insufferable know-it-all or a rich kid getting by on her looks and her parents’ money? Does she want the Professor’s approval because it makes her feel smart or, as it would seem at points during her arithmetic lesson, is she attracted to him? At times it even seemed like maybe she was smarter than she appeared, playing up the fact that she is cute and ditzy, like Little Red Ridding Hood in “Into The Woods” or Jessica Simpson on “Newlyweds.” Riendeau is normally much better at character analysis. Given more rehearsal time, she might have been more successful. Dan Rice is good as the Professor, but holds back. He seems like a very talented actor who is capable of much more. It felt as though he were hiding behind his makeup and costume. Although hilarious as a Professor who is reminiscent of a John Cleese “Flying Circus” role, he does not really begin to get interesting until the end.

Unfortunately for the production, this difficulty in determining who the pupil really was or where she was coming from made it was almost impossible to identify with her and therefore no great hardship is felt when she meets her end. Meanwhile Rice made his Professor easier to relate to.

It would have been better for “The Bald Soprano” if it had the spotlight all to itself. Its only real flaw was in the decision not to use British accents. Although this allowed for clearer understanding of the language (from most the actors) the lack of accents was apparent, since the characters constantly reference both British locales and the fact that they are British citizens. Although this production was a translation of a French play, it was always meant as a commentary on British culture, as the original title “English Without Pain” illustrates.

The stage design was clever. Actors, some in full costume, some in partial, drew the proscenium, curtain and backdrop with chalk on a black, brick wall. This gimmick would have worked better if all the actors were in either full or partial costume. Since some were fully dressed, those in blue jeans looked out of place.

“The Bald Soprano” was a resounding success. It was funny, well paced and the actors were smart and talented. Unfortunately it lost some of its glory because of its pairing with “The Lesson,” which was not nearly as well polished, paced or acted.

Final Grade: C