Pig Farm
Monday, June 26th, 2006 by AnniThis was my first trip to the new, and difficult-to-locate Laura Pels Theatre. Beautiful theatre, and a good place to house this new play, written by the creative team that did Urinetown.
The particular matinee that I attended this show, I’m pretty sure the audience didn’t quite understand that they were watching a farce until about 2/3 of the way through. But once they got it, I they were able to just throw down and laugh.
The plot is pretty weak. A pig farmer and his wife employ a juvenile delinquent to work on the farm. A relationship ensues between the boy and the farmer’s wife (messiest, dirtiest sex scene ever- don’t sit in the front row). Then a government agent from the EPA comes to investigate the fecal sludge dumping that’s been going on in the area. Chaos ensues. Not the best plot I’ve ever seen, but it’s the jokes and the performances that make the show.
Logan Marshall Green (of The O.C.) plays the young kid with an over-the-top campiness that’s almost too much. Whereas the other characters have some degree of complexity, he plays his role more like a charactiture - too much mugging to the audience. But he was very funny in parts. And so attractive that you forgive him.
Kate Finneran is good as the farmer’s wife. Is very believable as an embittered woman who isn’t getting what she wants from life. She plays the bitterness and dejectedness well, without sacrificing comedy, which is a hard combination. She does it well.
John Ellison Conlee plays the farmer with a sense of reality and groundedness, which again, he does without sacrificing comedy. Essentially, he’s the protaginist, but also the least interesting character.
Stealing the show (as usual) is Dennis O’Hare (Assassins, Sweet Charity) as the EPA officer. He is so committed to the role and adds a quirkiness to the character that is so bizzare, but somehow not stagey or fake-looking. He is able to do camp without making it look campy. Amazing.
The committment of the cast is what makes the show work. There are slow moments where even the constant jokes aren’t enough to keep us engaged, and honestly, it’s far too long for what it is. It really could have been a one-act, and feels like it was stretched out for too long.
However.
The last 2o minutes is some of the funniest schtick I’ve ever seen on stage. Violent, murderous slapstick with everyone bleeding all over each other for a ridiculously long time. Very, very funny - if you like that kind of broad comedy. Which I do. But I assume most audiences will not. In fact it got so silly at one point that Finneran just lost it, and started outwardly laughing at the ridiculousness and was clearly affected by the comedic talents of her costars. It was just like when Jimmy Fallon would laugh during a skech on SNL. In a way that’s the biggest compliment an actor can give to another; being so funny that you’re physically unable to stay in character! I loved it, you don’t get to see that too often, at least in professional productions!
This show is for anyone who likes stupid slapstic, interspersed with some really clever writing. But I have a feeling audiences will be lukewarm about it all.
