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Scapin @ the Lantern Theatre, Photo by Jeffrey Stockbridge

If there were any doubts about the tone of The Lantern Theater Company’s production of Scapin, they disappeared as soon as a middle-aged puppet emerged and introduced himself as the company’s artistic director, Charles McMahon. He gave the usual spiel about cell phones, subscriptions, donations and word-of-mouth advertising and was eventually cut off by the start of the show. It was probably one of the most well-received usual spiels in the Lantern’s history.

The play is driven by the schemes and manipulations of its eponymous servant. As the only completely non-puppet character, Scapin provided most of the play’s motion both in movement and plot. Part Nathan Lane, part Three Stooges, Benjamin Lloyd had great energy and excelled at interacting with the puppets — kissing, beating and conning them jubilantly as the story progressed.

That story finds two wealthy bachelors each happily marrying less-than noble brides, much to their respective fathers’ chagrin. The mayhem that ensues, orchestrated by Scapin’s Iago-like manipulations, includes kidnapping, gypsies and a convenient ending where all the marriages work out thanks to everyone being related to everyone else.

This is the Philadelphia premier of Bill Irwin and Mark O’Donnell’s adaptation of Molière’s classic, Les Fourberies de Scapin. Unlike the Frenchman’s story, set in Naples, Scapin’s antics unfold in Venice. The cramped streets, gondola passings and looming buildings made for a great claustrophobic set. Puppets popped out of random windows and Lloyd’s Scapin was able to crawl over the entire stage like a deceitful overgrown monster — at one point literally portraying King Kong. The adaptation takes the Commedia dell’Arte flair of the original work and gives it a decidedly Vaudevillian spin. Modern references to Star Wars, Taxi Driver, Peanuts and A League of Their Own were only funnier thanks to period costumes and, of course, the puppets.

Scapin wraps up its run at the Lantern Theatre this Sunday, January 3rd. Start the New Year off right with one of Philadelphia’s best theaters.

Scapin
December 3, 2009 – January 3, 2010

Lantern Theater Company at St. Stephen’s Theater
10th and Ludlow, Philadelphia, PA 19107
(215) 829-0395
www.lanterntheater.org