MAN WITH THE POINTED TOES
It’s been almost a year since I first discovered the Glendale Theatre Centre, the oldest, continually-run theatre in this country, and I still try to catch all of their delightful productions. They’re usually musicals, (and even when they’re not, like A Christmas Carol, the producers try to throw-in some live singing,) but I just saw my first straight-out play there.
Actually, I could see someone turning Man With The Pointed Toes into a musical—the semi-hokey story sort-of lends itself to that genre. But it was really enjoyable as is, though we could all see what was coming from a mile away. The fun, then, was watching the action unfold.
Photo by Nathan Milisavljevich.
The story was predictable, but charming; old-fashioned, yet cute. And, in these times, when too many producers and studios think that painful equals popular, (which, sadly, it really does seem to,) it’s always a breath of fresh air to see non-troublesome comedies.
From the title, though, I thought it was going to be some kind of mystery show. I was looking forward to that, but got into the comedy of it right away.
I still don’t get the title, though. It never gets explained in the show. (But there was a spotlight on his cowboy boots in the beginning, which was strange because they were on a table in the living room of a Texas house where nothing else was out of place, so I can’t imagine footwear on the furniture there.) Perhaps waaaay back in the day when it was written, (circa 1958,) that was a euphemism for a rube or yokel, but my research didn’t turn up anything like that. (I have to admit that I didn’t spend my usual many hours on it, though.)
It’s an easy-to-follow show about a Texas oilman trying to gain some class (to impress a lady love, of course,) by hiring a female teacher from New York. That’s really all you have to know.
Even though the two females in the production played their roles a bit caricature-ishly, the whole cast was entertaining. I was especially impressed with Tommy Kearney as the title character; his performance was perfectly subdued and not even close to the over-the-top that I could picture other actors ruining the show with.
And this is the first time I’ve seen a stationary set at GCT! It was interesting and perfect. It felt exactly like what it was supposed to, and was not too busy for when mayhem ensued.
Speaking of mayhem, the first act was great, but the second one went on far too long. And then it just ended abruptly, with no chance for us to savor the outcome that we knew was coming since ten minutes into the first act! [Note: I think that the long-ago playwrights are to blame for that deficiency, not this production. But since I have a feeling that at least some sentences were re-written, perchance the director could have fixed this, as well.]
But outside of those two slight complaints, it was another enjoyable evening that was had by all at the Glendale Centre Theatre. Now, if only I could find a spare Saturday morning to head over there to see their children’s theatre production of Peter Pan! I have to work on that.
[One audience note, that I wish wasn’t necessary, but, unfortunately, people still have to be told what proper audience behavior is. Shame. I was very distracted by a man, not even a young one, in the front row, who sat through the entire first act locked on his cell phone!!! It looked like he was playing games, but there could have been some texting/checking emails thrown in. How rude can one be??? He was smiling oft times, though, so he was probably paying a bit of attention to the show like he does to his TV at home. But THE THEATRE IS NOT ONE’S HOME!!! It’s a privilege to be able to see live actors work, up-close and personal, and every single audience member should be respectful of that fact. Even if dragged to a play by one’s spouse or parent, you have to act accordingly with the rules of politeness. Why have so few know gotten that memo nowadays?]
Man With The Pointed Toes running through May 5, 2012
Glendale Centre Theatre 324 N. Orange Street, Glendale 818-244-8481 www.glendalecentretheatre.com
