'Anton' pokes smart fun at the theater world

By: PAM KRAGEN - Staff Writer | Wednesday, February 13, 2008 1:02 PM PST ∞

What happens when you bring together a washed-up TV soap star, a burned-out fringe theater actress and a bubble-brained ingenue in a low-budget staging of Chekhov's "The Three Sisters"?

A lot of laughs, if you're talking about Jane Martin's theater spoof "Anton in Show Business," now in its San Diego premiere at 6th@Penn Theatre in San Diego. The all-women comedy takes a canny, insider's look at the world of theater and hits the mark squarely again and again. Directed and produced by Dale Morris, "Anton" is well-cast, smart and delivers continual laughs. It could use a trim of 15 to 20 minutes and its ending drags on too long, but it's a fun way to spend an evening and a hoot if you know much about the backstage world of theater.

"Anton in Show Business" refers to Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. And in this two-act comedy, Chekhov's "Three Sisters" becomes the vehicle that three very different actresses hope will change their lives for the better.

Holly (played with cunning sexiness by Deanna Driscoll) is a famous soap opera actress who can't get a role in a film because she's seen as talentless. Her agent recommends she do a classic play to get the attention of the film studios, and he lines her up for the starring role in "Three Sisters" with San Antonio Texas Actors Express. Cast to play the other two Chekhovian sisters are Casey (Robin Christ in a droll, world-weary performance), a dedicated but aging actress who has toiled in off-off-Broadway plays for 20 years but has nothing to show for it; and Lizabette (giddy, wide-eyed Aimee Janelle Nelson), a 23-year-old third-grade teacher who dreams of being a star but lacks the talent, nerve and ambition.

Through the course of the rehearsal process, the "three sisters" endure every horror known to community and regional theater ---- self-important and abusive directors, ridiculous audition exercises, sexually aggressive producers and underwriters, an indifferent board of directors, backstage hookups, yanked funding and (horror of all horrors) a smug, intrusive theater critic who shouts her disdain from the audience (no, not me, but a character in the show).

The actresses bond, but when the show's underwriter, a Texas tobacco company, pulls its funding to refocus its marketing in the more lucrative Asian market, the play is shut down before opening night. In the spirit of sisterhood, Holly offers to pay for the production with her soap salary but when DreamWorks calls with a last-minute film role, she must make a Chekhovian choice.

While the three characters' connections with Chekhov's three sisters is tenuous, the characters are well-developed and very well performed by the trio of Driscoll, Christ and Nelson. They have great chemistry together, their portrayals are honest, and their comic timing (particularly Driscoll) is spot-on.

But the show's big surprise is the debut of Coronado high school senior Cashae Monya in a trio of supporting roles. Monya has confidence, projection, expression, comic chops and talent far beyond her years, and she steals the show, particularly as Andwyeth, the in-your-face "Black Rage" director hired by the theater to secure a multicultural programming grant.

Patricia Elmore Costa shows her versatility in a trio of comic roles as Kate, the exasperated producer; Ben, the not-too-bright country singer cast in the play; and Jackey, the bawling gay costumer. Kelly Lapczynski is surprisingly natural as a trio of believable male characters: Ralph, the insufferable British director; Wikewitch, the intense/brooding Polish director; and Joe Bob, the cowboy board president who doesn't give a sniff about theater. Morgan Trant plays devil's advocate as Joby, the inquisitive theater critic; and Julia Hoover, Jamie Lloyd and Selena Wood round out the cast in a number of small roles.

Morris' set design is minimalist (a multi-doored backdrop with murals by Valentine Viannay depicting L.A. and New York), as is Mitchell Simkovski's lighting, but Jamie Lloyd's costumes (particularly for Andwyeth) brighten up the surroundings. Also deserving of praise is the uncredited wig designer who created country singer Ben's "Jethro"-style beehive and costumer Jackey's horned shag.

"Anton in Show Business" runs two hours with intermission. If some of the extraneous subplots were trimmed, the play might work better as an intermissionless 90-minute piece, but the show never drags thanks to the fine ensemble onstage. The more you know about theater, the more you'll like "Anton in Show Business," but even if you're a theater novice, you'll enjoy this well-staged and well-cast comedy.

"Anton in Show Business"

When: 8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays; 2 p.m. Sundays; through March 2

Where: 6th@Penn Theatre, 3704 Sixth Ave., San Diego

Tickets: $23, general; $20, seniors and students; $18, active military

Info: (619) 688-9210

Web: www.6thatpenn.com

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