Yes, Minister and Monty Python humor, Serious subject
Friday night, I had the great honor to review the first performance of the world premiere of The Plague Master General-a Bubonic Comedy, which promises to be an award-winning script and production. This thoroughly entertaining, enlightening production was written and directed by Greg LoProto, produced by Blue Hour Theatre, with an ensemble of astoundingly talented actors at West of Lenin. It was one of the highlights of my 14 years of reviewing.
Although the setting of The Plague Master was a fictitious town in England during the Black Death- the Bubonic plague epidemic, circa 14th Century, the subject of the play was how hierarchical structures such as the Church, Government and Social/Political elites selfishly prevent rational solutions to humanitarian disasters.
In the 14th Century, due to global warming in Central Asian, rodents hosting the fleas which carried the bacteria causing the Bubonic plague migrated to Europe. It spread rapidly since there was little hygiene or civil sanitation. Since medical knowledge did not have a scientific basis, being intermingled with folk and religious superstitions, combatting plague was near impossible except to find convenient scapegoats.
As the play opens, the local extremely ineffective Baron, who is supposed to be the administrator for the region, appoints another lord, the unqualified Alfonso Aguiar Lobato de Bragas, as the Plague Master General to find a cure. Since nobody knew the cause, other than the church leaders, who attributed it to God’s will and insufficient prayer, Alfonso tries unsuccessfully to refuse the commission. Once the job was forced upon him, he bravely soldiered on.
Alfonso, played expertly by Jillian Faulk, is one of those characters usually played by Rowan Atkinson, the young Woody Allen, or Spike Lee, a sort of ineffective, yet perceptive nonentity, who tries to do the right thing, but is thwarted every inch of the way by the powers that be. Tragically, he realizes that the powerful people will always sacrifice poor folk rather than inconvenience themselves for the sake of the common good. Hence the poor suffer while the rich and powerful benefit.
Throughout the play, he travels to other European lands and meets a variety of eccentric characters who give him useless information about the plague. But when he returns to England, he finally meets a female “doctor” who comes up with some solutions, but of course the elites are threatened by solutions because “It is illegal to know things.”
Although this may sound like a depressing dystopian play, it was not, not only was the script full of dry wit, irony, humor and verbal gymnastics, but the writer/director knew how to direct comedy, something one does not see very often on stages in Seattle. The Plague Master General was hilarious yet quite profound.
The comedy came through in this play because director Lo Porto had the actors play everything seriously, so he was able to milk the sardonic, dark humor in every line. The humor was not forced, it was honest. And did the audience respond!
Also the director utilized the flexibility of the West of Lenin’s black box space to great effect. The “stage” was a long rectangle with the audience on both the long sides. This facilitated quick scene changes and movement.
Although there were umpteen characters in the play, there were, in fact, only six actors in the ensemble. Four of the actors played five or six characters. Each time they played a different role, they used physicality and especially different accents and even languages all spoken expertly.
For example, Brian Brooks played an Irish priest, with a perfect accent, but until I read the program I did not realize that he was actually playing the Baron’s brutish lackey, as well. Later he appeared as a Scottish doctor, complete with a different accent and persona.
Jeremy Radick played the rather fey Baron complete with a plummy accent and then reappeared as Sir Donald, a hedonistic beer-swilling footballer, speaking with a London accent-also called Cockney variant. As an elderly female plague victim being examined by the Plague Master and the Liturgical Doctor, Radick was not only totally convincing but also amusing and endearing.
Ellen Dessler Smith played many roles as The Baronness, a French Doctor, (Quand elle parle très bien), a jailer, a Sea Captain and Mourning Peasant. Each one was completely differentiated from the other. Annie St. John played the female doctor, with a class appropriate London accent, as a pivotal character in the plot, her performance was outstanding.
As the lead, Jillian Faulk was on stage the whole time and never faltered. Along with the rest of the cast, her comic and dramatic timing was absolutely impeccable, which made this dialogue-driven play an absolute delight. Her accompanying facial expressions during her pregnant pauses spoke volumes and were quite intriguing in this extremely challenging role.
With such intricate language, and a serious subject presented humorously, it took a delicate touch by the director and the actors to make this production a success, and a roaring success it was.
From the very first scene the audience was engaged, laughing and the energy emanating from the stage was exciting. Blue Hour Theatre is a newish company with an ensemble of talented actors who presented a highly polished performance. Blue Hour Theatre Group is clearly going places.
Also this particular show represents what art is all about-a way for individuals and society as a whole to come to grips with the momentous changes in the world. During the play I could not help but think of the famous French quote, Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose-the more things change the more they stay the same. The Plague Master General is just as relevant to the recent shenanigans around the Covid pandemic as it was to the Black Death.
I would get your tickets as soon as possible because I would predict this show will very soon be sold out.
The Plague Master General. Blue Hour Theatre Group. West of Lenin 203-N. 36th St. Fremont, Seattle, WA 98103. Fri, Sat even 8:00 pm. Matinées Sun. April 20 and 27, 2pm. Til April 27
Tickets: https://www.bluehourtheatre.com/
Street Parking can be difficult but not impossible.