In pursuit of citrusy love cast upon him by a villainous sorceress, a hypochondriac prince, accompanied by a raucous clown, combats a cast of silly and suspiciously sinister characters, as well as his own daftness, through a fairy tale kingdom; all for the love of oranges. You will certainly want to “check your disbelief at the door” for this whimsically absurd main stage production of “The Love of Three Oranges” by Longwood University’s Theatre Department. It’s like the fourth wall never even existed.
In the style of “commedia dell’arte,” Hillary DePiano amusingly retools “The Love of Three Oranges” from the satirical opera by Carlo Gozzi for the delight of modern audiences. Relying heavily on spontaneity and slapstick comedy, “Oranges” was a perfect choice for Longwood’s theatre department this season with a group of students who have been revealed as brilliantly hilarious character actors.
As the audience filled the small theatre in the Center for Communication Studies and Theatre (CSTAC) to near capacity this past Thursday, the eager energy of both the cast and audience bounced around the now transformed space.
The stage floor, regularly a drab black, now lays playfully splotched with green paint to match the green rope hanging like nets from a jungle gym on both stage left and tactfully placed windows for crazy chase scenes. The design was conceived of by Scott Chapman who was also responsible for the zany lights which completed the disorienting, parallel universe vibe.
Adding to the anticipation, just before the show began, Music Director Teri Kidd strutted on stage hilariously clad in a feather boa and red platform heels. Kidd made herself comfortable in the cozy corner where she would provide the off-the-wall soundtrack for the ridiculousness to come.
Next, the cheeky yet charming narrator, portrayed by the dorky, suave Austin Madison, got all of the “expositional crap,” as he so eloquently put it, out of the way for us. The audience relied on Madison’s every word as the plot was seemingly manipulated in a new bizarre direction every 10 minutes. In the world of absurdity and surrealism, Madison was our trusted guide, and he never did us wrong.
The “Oranges” cast’s biggest strength seemed to be in their voice acting. Everyone’s diction was impeccable, and the accents they were able to pull off were impressive, ranging from an old Jewish woman in Brooklyn to an awkward lispy adolescent.
However, often times, the ensemble actors' physicality seemed lazy and lacking in intention and commitment, unlike their voices that had clearly been honed to perfection.
The blocking often seemed forced and unmotivated, especially evident in earlier scenes between the King of Hearts (Jacob Lief) and advisor Pantalone (Matthew White).
There were exceptions to this rule, particularly in Senior Tyler Nobles’ portrayal of the slapstick king of jesters, if there ever was one, Truffaldino. His entire face covered by clown makeup and a distractingly colorful gaudy getup did not overwhelm Nobles’ performance in the slightest as he helped the prince find his way to the loves of his life, orange citrus fruit. He was able to take on multiple personas – all of which filtered through the lens of the ultimately good-intentioned jokester, Truffaldino.
As Truffaldino accompanied the whiney, annoying Prince Tartaglia, melodramatically depicted by the rubber-faced Alexander Johnson, they ran into the likes of the evil sorceress of Fata Morgana (Sarah Breitenberg) and her sassy lacky Smeraldina, played by Brittni Cogdell. Cogdell’s performance beautifully balanced Breitenberg’s as they played off of one another’s incredible sarcastic subtlety.
Fight scenes between the “villains” and so-called “goodguys” were fought in slow motion, which were hilariously choreographed by junior Maggie Williams. Weapon of choice? Pool noodles.
The hijinks never do really end, so, if you are ready to jump into the land of “willful suspension of disbelief” you may just end up “happily ever in laughter,” thanks to Longwood University Theatre’s production of “The Love of Three Oranges.”
You still have a chance to catch a great performance; tickets are six dollars for Longwood students (Longwood ID required):
Nov. 14-16 at 7 p.m.
Nov. 17 at 3 p.m.
