How Was The Show - The Jungle Theater at The Jungle Theater

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Shipwrecked! at The Jungle Theater on 5/26/09

Emily Gunyou Halaas (left), Edwin Strout (masked, in center) and Michael Booth (right) in Shipwrecked! Publicity photo by Michal Daniel

Shipwrecked! at the Jungle Theater is a play that requires exclamation points. In an intermission-free 90 minutes, playwright Donald Margulies literally takes us around the world. Starting in staid 1869 London, our not-so-trustworthy hero, Louis de Rougemont, having been robbed of his patrimony, signs onto a South Seas pearling expedition; meets a psychopathic sea captain; dives for pearls and finds a priceless golf-ball sized blackie; is capsized by a rare giant octopus and marooned on a deserted isle with his strangely human dog, Bruno; meets and marries a lovely native girl, Yamba; sires and raises two girls; buries Bruno; makes his way to Australia, and then home to a now cacophonously loud London; makes a mint selling his story to a magazine; is accused of being (or is exposed as) a fraud; dies penniless.

Whew! If it sounds breathless and wildly eventful, well, it is, but the cast and crew at the Jungle are up to it. The set, designed by the always smart director, Joel Sass, with costumes by Sonya Berlovitz, lighting by Barry Browning and some highly diverting "shadow puppetry" by Michael Sommers, is a mad jumble of props, costume pieces, banners, sound effects devices, musical instruments, drums of all sorts. The three person crew of musicians, noise-makers, puppet operators, set and costume piece bringer-onners (Alicia M. Dansby, Amber Davis, and Paul Rutledge), are constantly onstage, giving every important moment in the play some kind of theatrical underline. Because of their Herculean efforts, the play has genuine flair. They are aided enormously by composer Greg Brosofske who serves up some tasty musical effects.

The acting ensemble (Emily Gunyou Halaas, Stephen Cartmell, and Edwin Strout) attack the play with a zest and relish that verges on the indecent. Each actor plays 6 or 8 characters, and their ability to find varying accents, physical mannerisms, etc, amazes. All are wonderful, but Stephen Cartmell deserves particular praise for his puke-eating dog Bruno and his oddly stunted (he plays her on his knees) Queen Victoria.

A play like this lives or dies on the verve and charisma of de Rougemont, our main character and story-teller extraordinaire. As Louis, Michael Booth does admirably. He's an unflagging presence, tall and angular, with a mop of wiry hair and slightly deranged smile. We know (from the program) that de Rougemont was a famous fraud. Nonetheless Booth makes us believe every moment – a real achievement.

More than a little over-the-top? Actors have a distressing tendency to mug and gnaw the scenery? Maybe, but who cares. If you're looking for an evening of pure entertainment in the air-conditioned splendor of the Jungle, then "Shipwrecked!" is the show for you.

Finally, a note to the Guthrie, Park Square, Ten Thousand Things, et al: produce Donald Margulies. This writer has it all, a sharp eye for character, diversity of subject matter, comedic flair. He's an American talent whose work is superior to any number of better known playwrights and it's been too-absent from Minnesota stages. At the Jungle we get our chance to watch him at work.

Shipwrecked! runs through June 28^th. See http://www.jungletheater.com for more information.

Location Info: The Jungle Theater
Artist Info: The Jungle Theater

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