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| Michael Penn / Juneau Empire |
 In the dark: Left, Brittany Burch, Levi Ben-Israel and Maria Gladziszewski rehearse a scene from Perseverance Theatre's production of "Black Comedy." |
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Meeting potential in-laws can be disastrous under perfect conditions. Meeting them under disastrous conditions can be downright comical.
In its latest main-stage production, "Black Comedy," Perseverance Theatre examines the debacle that ensues when an up-and-coming artist's dinner party for his fiancee's conservative father is interrupted by a blown fuse. What was intended to be the ideal evening results in a menagerie of characters bringing to light secrets and mistakes under a veil of darkness.
A pay-as-you-can preview will be held at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 14, and the official opening for "Black Comedy" is set for 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 15. The show runs through Jan. 13.
Celebrated British thespian Keith Baxter has returned to Juneau to direct "Black Comedy" after a successful run of last season's comedy "Noises Off." Baxter directs an eight-person ensemble in acclaimed playwright Peter Shaffer's one-act production, which was first performed in 1965 under the artistic direction of Sir Laurence Olivier.
The play begins within a London flat, where protagonist Brindsley Miller (Levi Ben-Israel) is preparing to impress his girlfriend's father, Col. Melkett (Jerry Demmert), as the farce begins to take form.
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Theatre
What: Perseverance Theatre presents "Black Comedy," directed by Keith Baxter.
When: Pay-as-you can preview on Friday, Dec. 14; opening night, Saturday, Dec. 15; pay-as-you can performances Sunday, Dec. 16 and Wednesday-Thursday, Dec. 19-20; regular shows Friday-Sunday, Dec. 21-23, and Wednesdays-Sundays, Dec. 26-30, Jan. 2-6 and 9-13.
Time: All shows begin at 7:30 p.m., with 2 p.m. matinees on Jan. 6 and 13.
Where: Perseverance Theatre's main stage, 914 Third St., Douglas.
Cost: Wednesdays, Thursdays, Sundays and matinees are $22 for adults, $17 for seniors and $12 for students; Fridays and Saturdays are $27 for adults, $22 for seniors and $17 for students.
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The production uses a reverse lighting scheme to depict a situation in total darkness, Baxter said. The first several minutes of the play take place in pitch black for the audience, but when the fuse blows, the stage lights come up and the actors are seen stumbling around as if cast into a world of darkness.
"It's just an evening of bumping into things that they didn't expect to, finding things in the dark that they didn't know were there," he said.
The comedy ensues as a German electrician is mistaken for the world's richest man; Miller's mistress arrives on the scene to renew their affair; and colorful neighbors add complications to this classic British farce.
"It's very funny how different things are in the dark," Baxter said. "I mean anybody, if they drew the curtains and suddenly turned a familiar room into pitch dark, you'd be surprised how little you know your own room."
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| Michael Penn / Juneau Empire |
| The electrician (Jake Waid) interacts with a sculpture. |
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"Black Comedy" provides the community with the unique opportunity to see a true British farce directed by someone from an important era of theater, said Juneau actor Jake Waid, who plays the German electrician.
"He comes from a real pedigree of the greatest in British theater," he said. "Keith, he's a real joy to work with. Not only is he a legend in his own right, but he has also worked with and is a peer of people like Peter O'Toole and Laurence Olivier."
The audience, however, shouldn't expect see any slapstick humor in the production of "Black Comedy," Waid said.
"British farces are very specific, very character driven," he said. "It's not necessarily knocking-your-head-on-the-door-jam humor. It's all about getting unlikely characters in a room together and seeing what happens."
Brittany Burch, who plays Miller's fiancee, said having Baxter's wealth of knowledge and experience in British theater has been beneficial to the acting process for "Black Comedy."
"It's different working with a British director opposed to an American director - there's a very different outlook toward the process," she said. "Working in America, you work from the inside out ... whereas the British process is kind of opposite. You work outside in."
Allan Hayton, Maria Gladziszewski, Brandon Demmery and Sheilagh O'Loughlin round out the cast. Set designer Art Rotch, costume designer Diana Khoury, lighting designer Emily Lagerquist and property designer Kathleen Harper help bring the production to life.
Baxter said "Black Comedy" has had successful runs in London and on Broadway, so he hopes for the same kind of run in Juneau.
"It's a very popular, or has been, a very popular play worldwide," he said.
• Contact Eric Morrison at 523-2269 or eric.morrison@juneauempire.com.
