“Misalliance” South Coast Repertory, through Oct. 10, $28 to $66
Three uninvited guests literally drop in (two from a plane crash) to the British country manor of John Tarleton, a former shopkeeper and now magnate of his own “unshrinkable” underwear kingdom.
What follows in George Bernard Shaw’s century-old yet very fresh “Misalliance” is a brilliant comedy that covers and debates everything from socialism to physical fitness. All the wrong men chase all the wrong women, and Shaw’s wit shines brightly during the entire production.
The story centers on Hypatia, the young, spoiled and bored-with-life daughter of Tarleton, and her not-so-manly fiance, Bentley, who’s also known as “Bunny.”
The couple is in another routine afternoon of “talk, talk, talk” and little else until a plane drops from the sky and crashes into the Tarleton greenhouse, bringing with it a dashing pilot and a female Polish acrobat. Soon after, a man with a gun and a grudge turns up to kill Tarleton, only to see Hypatia kissing the pilot. The rules of courtship are turned upside down as she seeks to become “an active verb” for the first time in her life, and nearly all of the other men seek to woo the newly arrived Polish performer.
Shaw, author of 63 plays, is one of history’s literary giants and “now’s the time for a revival” of “Misalliance” according to director and South Coast Repertory cofounder Martin Benson (who has staged five Shaw plays, all of them award winners).
“Some people hear the name Shaw and think intellectual,” Benson said. “But he is so funny and human. I defy anyone to read ‘Misalliance’ and not think, No. 1, that it’s funny, and, No. 2, that the characters are very real in their wants and desires.”
The success of this show is due in no small part to a great cast and a great actor in the lead role, Dakin Matthews. Rounding out the cast are Melanie Lora as Hypatia, Amelia White as Mrs. Tarleton, Wyatt Fenner as Bunny, Daniel Bess as John Tarleton Jr., Richard Doyle as Lord Summerhays, Peter Katona as the pilot, Kirsten Potter in a brilliant performance as the Polish high-wire act, and JD Cullum as the bumbling assassin, Julius Baker.
The production is accented with a beautiful set by designer guru Ralph Funicello.
While “Misalliance” may have been a bit of a mystery to British critics a century ago, one constant remains during each of its productions in the past 100 years: audiences, including this reviewer, love it.
—Robert Palmer is a lawyer with Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP in Irvine and an arts buff.
