What I love about A Noise Within is that they consistently bring us lushly designed, beautifully produced classical works that, more often than not, are rarely mounted in the greater LA area. We are blessed indeed to have such a phenomenal repertory company right in our backyard. And once more, this is the case with their latest production of George Bernard Shaw’s “Misalliance” now playing through June 9.
It is 1910 and we are in the conservatory of the large, genteel English country home of underwear tycoon John Tarleton and his wife. Shaw is particularly verbose in Misalliance, but if sparkling, witty banter along with political and societal debate mixed with a rollicking good time is your idea of fun, then pull up a chair and spend the afternoon with this extraordinary cast of characters. The story is really secondary to the stimulating, and certainly subversive for its time, discussions of feminism and class, cleverly delivered here by director Guillermo Cienfuegos’ top flight cast.
Deborah Strang Riley Shanahan
Frederick Stuart and Peter Van Norden in Misalliance at A Noise Within
This story centers around Tarleton’s daughter Hypatia, who yearns to escape the rarified air of her upbringing to experience something extraordinary. That something ends up literally dropping from the sky by way of a crash landing of the dashing pilot, John Percival, and his co-pilot, Polish acrobat Lina Szczepanowska. The men are rendered helpless in the presence of Lina’s overt strength and beauty, including Hypatia’s betrothed, the meek Bentley Summerhays as well as Tarleton himself. Meanwhile Hypatia is immediately taken with the pilot and breathlessly pursues him.
The first act is delightfully wordy and sets up all the relationships while the majority of the antics happen once the aviators arrive on scene. There is a newly delivered Turkish bath sitting in the middle of room that will eventually conceal an entire new plotline, character and wrench in what was supposed to be an uneventful afternoon.
Cienfuego skillfully weaves the at times chaotic narrative into an endlessly engaging, often laugh out loud romp that leaves you feeling not only smarter but also thoroughly entertained. Trisha Miller is captivating and forceful as the irrepressible Lina while Erika Soto is a petulant and passionate Hypatia. Josey Montana McCoy is an absolute hoot as the height-challenged, sniveling Bentley, and Frederick Stuart gives the elder Lord Summerhays a sweetly nostalgic dignity. Riley Shanahan is a smug and exceedingly watchable Johnny Tarleton (son to Tarleton and brother to Hypatia) and Peter Van Norden gives Tarleton just the right amount of bombasity and exasperation. Joshua Bitton makes an intriguing and mysterious Julius Baker and the always delicious Deborah Strang grounds the proceedings with her shrewd and motherly Mrs. Tarleton.
Especially if you’ve never had the opportunity to see a Shaw play, this production is a terrific piece by this prolific playwright, with a cast that is perfection at this style, performing on a breathtakingly beautiful set by Angela Balogh Calin in gorgeous period costumes by Christine Cover Ferro. It’s a top to bottom exquisite achievement.
Misalliance is now playing through June 9 at A Noise Within located at 3352 E Foothill Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91107. For more information and to purchase tickets, call (626) 356-3100 or go to www.anoisewithin.org.
