Italian Waiter as Irish Tenor!

June 7, 2016

A still from the stage production of SCAPINO!, a musical by Jim Dale and Frank Dunlop, directed by George Brock at the Unity Theatre, currently running until June 19, 2016.  

SCAPINO! is a madcap farce, loosely based upon Moliere with stock characters reminiscent of both neoclassical theater and that of the earlier Commedia del Arte.   That is, the characters are human types and the stage is a hive for physical comedy.

The script gives no indication of the character of the Headwaiter. However, the director, George Brock has given me the opportunity to develop him.  Headwaiter, as I have played him, is a greasy, malingering, sex-crazed, gambling, dull, friendless, curmudgeonly and entirely harmless old fool.  

Following in that centuries old tradition (still alive in Naples!) — at least, that has been my intention — I asked for a wig.  My intention was to use the wig in place of the traditional mask, or at least in that spirit.  In other words, not to conceal character, but to reveal it.   George Brock saw the wig on the day of our Photo Call and shouted out, “YES!”    It has been a great pleasure to work with such a capable director whose knowledge of theater is surpassing (!) good.  I hope to work with him again.

In this scene, Headwaiter sings, “Danny Boy,” while taking or at least attempting to take, a swig from the flask he carries at all times.  Yes, an Italian waiter singing as an Irish tenor!  The surprise in this scene I shan’t disclose until the end of the run, just in case someone with tickets happens across this blog.

[Image: Scott Hill.  Used with the photographer’s permission.]