The Servant Of Two Masters

Play (1753)
by Carlo Goldoni

With Steven Epp (Truffaldino), Allen Gilmore (Pantalone), Sarah Agnew (Beatrice), Liam Craig (Brighella/Porter), David Hanbury (Waiter), Chivas Michael (Silvio), Randy Reyes (Florindo), Don Darryl Rivera (Il Dottore), Luverne Sieifert (Waiter), Adina Verson (Clarice), Liz Wisan (Smeraldina)

Truffaldino is a servant who gets caught up with obligations to each of two masters, unbeknownst to the other. Hilariously, he is caught in crossfire expectations and logistical shenanigans. There are multiple love stories, seemingly lost siblings, cross-dressing and many other devices that make such farces great fun, and this is one of the greatest. There is, of course, a happy ending.

This very faced paced production keeps one on the edge of one’s auditory seat trying to catch the oncoming traffic of joke references that emerge seemingly at every verbal turn.

The company has tuned its gag reflex to respond to the local environment, and one hears many spoofy Bostonian allusions, among many other things, to local theater companies (one in particular gets ribbed mercilessly), the Green Line and the Patriots. As well, there are endless musical quotes from TV shows going back to the sixties and many other high-fives to popular culture.

Whether the bulk of these have been honed carefully over the show’s previous runs (presumably this production just arrived from a healthy run in the Midwest), or produced more spontaneously is hard to tell. Nor does it matter, because the result is very entertaining and complements the action of the play delightfully.

At times, one almost loses the action of the play in the patter, which gives rise to the only mild criticism I would offer. Whatever dramatic structure the play offers is here used as a kind of armature for a vaudevillian extravaganza. One could never argue against a farce of this sort being used in this way. Nonetheless, I saw a production of the play a number of years ago that focused much more on the antics of the plot rather than on improvised verbal embellishment, which provided an entirely different theatrical experience, its entertainment value more a function of the narrative itself. The current production is great fun also, but has a different focus.

As well, there is, here, some really good singing and choreography, making for beautiful and lively punctuations throughout.

Steven Epp is an adept Truffaldino, managing the duplicitous carryings-on with alacrity.

Allen Gilmore as Pantalone provides an abundance of gag material, with great energy and verve.

Sarah Agnew does a graceful turns as the multiply-arrayed Beatrice.

The production begins and ends with a delightful show of dancing sparks that turn into a stage full of glowing stars. It is just one of many effects, in addition to the constant riffing humor, that keeps things moving along and popping during the show’s entertaining two and a half hour stretch.

– BADMan