Stormfield Theatre indulges in a zany confection with its Romantic Fools, by Rich Orloff. Director Rob Roznowski and his cast of two gnaw through a brittle, stale exterior of he-said/she-said tropes in order to savor a fulfilling chewy center of relationship-centered humor.
Man (Roger Ortman) and Woman (Lisa Sodman) make their way together through twelve comic vignettes, broken up into two acts. The first, concerned with meeting and pursuing potential mates, relies heavily on overblown gender stereotypes: to her, men are prehistoric relics with elementary needs and rudimentary communication skills; to him, women are needy basket cases whose mixed signals render them nearly schizophrenic. Even the more remote generalizations feel like they’ve been made before, and these performances are too by the book to transcend their other iterations. Separately, Ortman and Sodman adopt a few outrageous personas, but the comic pairing doesn't feel attuned. Similarly, the early scene work relies heavily on scripted zaniness: the beats safe and underworked, the choices reserved, this is the minimum acceptable qualification for humor. Some of the material is even lifted conspicuously from a classic comic routine, which emphasizes the importance of timing and delivery to its success — and not in the way one would hope.
What’s missing in this formula becomes immediately and gratefully apparent in the second act. Man and Woman stop being abstractions to each other and become real partners in a relationship, and the limp one-sidedness makes way for a legitimate team effort. Once the characters are able to connect as their base selves and progress toward commitment, the ensuing character-based humor, despite being less adamant, is far more successful. The show doesn’t abandon silly premises or wacky set pieces, but these no longer feel like the sole fact of the scene; an illustrative contest is funny because the two are physically grappling for relationship power, but it flourishes with trusting scene partners and ample give and take. Even the homage to bygone eras improves, as Ortman executes a decent impression in character as a perplexing event planner.
The highs and lows of the production both stem from the literal interpretation of Orloff’s descriptor “comic vaudeville.” On the one hand, the concept inspires imaginative design elements; on the other, it forces the concept on every scene and line, regardless of fit. Scenic designer Kirk Domer (in collaboration with Zac Campbell) overflows the space with miscellany from sketches and circuses and traveling acts, the detritus of an erstwhile playing house, but this stays far in the background behind a blank stage. Holly Iler’s costume design and properties by Bruce Bennett sail cleanly over the top in terms of size and gaudiness; however, their thoughtful designs integrate into the action, never so unwieldy that they detract. Between scenes, lighting design Tim Fox relinquishes the footlights and delineates separate changing-room corners to which the players retreat and reflect, although any suggestion of antic onstage mayhem versus candid backstage respite is contrasted by the persistent high-speed calliopes of Michelle Raymond’s interstitial sound design. Each facet of the design team gives it their all, but the result is less chaotic harmony than pure cacophony.
This Romantic Fools locks into its vaudeville mindset; in keeping with the form, the results are hit and miss. Strong interactions and innovative design that shine in one arena turn to comic timidity and excessive flourishes in another. The result is a rollercoaster ride through one relationship, with parts that delight and parts to wait through before the next peak, but it’s when Man and Woman join lives and comic forces that things start to really zoom.