'Scapino!' leaves audience laughing

Frank Dunlop and Jim Dale's "Scapino!" is loads of fun. From the very beginning, you are entertained by the clown-like "bum" of the show, played by an aptly goofy Brian Levin. But there is a lot more than his antics to immediately grab your attention when you enter the new Wells-Metz Theatre.\nThe scene for this show, designed by Namok Bae, is fabulous. Built in the style of an Italian café, it is a masterpiece in pink stucco. Above and behind the two-story café hang the outlines of what would be houses in the distance, creating for the viewer not only an imaginative foreground but the appearance of a background as well.\nThe show starts. A girl comes out, face painted white and pixie hairstyle painted red. She's dressed in red, fishnet tights; a short, black, puffy skirt with "Pipi" written on it; clunky black shoes and an asymmetrical tank top that immediately reminds you of a mime's costume. This is just the beginning of a series of amazingly creative and colorful costumes designed by Rebecca S. Jarrell. \nPipi was on the staff at the café. Her father -- "Papa" -- and brothers -- "Pepe" and "Popo" -- were right behind the swinging doors, soon to appear in similar costumes with even wilder hairdos. There was not a great deal of direction with the café staff, but they and "Carlos" -- the bum -- created the perfect ridiculous background for a ridiculous show. And in a charming twist, "Papa" also provided the soundtrack for the show with appropriate pieces on the violin, including the theme from "Jaws."\nThe rest of "Scapino!," based on Molière's "Les Fourberies de Scapin" ("The Tricks of Scapin," 1671), followed as such: Wealthy merchants Argante and Geronte went out of town, leaving their sons Ottavio and Leandro to fend for themselves. Their response to this newfound freedom was to fall in love, Ottavio with the young pink-haired Giacinta -- who is apparently from a good family -- and Leandro with the gypsy Zerbinetta (there isn't much hope for her). Ottavio managed to marry Giacinta without his father's permission, and Leandro didn't behave well either. The show began with both sons frantic for an escape from the wrath of their fathers. They enlisted the help of the trickster Scapino, around whose antics the plot is built. He succeeded, through clever deception, in helping the boys keep the women they love. The play had a surprise ending, but -- as in all comedies of that era -- it ended happily ever after.\nThe entire cast of "Scapino!" did a wonderful job, from the lead characters to the supporting cast, which consisted of café staff, Ottavio's guardian and friend Sylvestro (Duncan Teater) and Giacinta's nurse (Molly Wright). Ira Amyx shone especially bright in the role of Scapino.\nBradley Fletcher (Leandro) had quite a bit of fun playing with excessive melodrama -- an artistic decision that got him many laughs. Ottavio, played by Darby Cicci, was somewhat upstaged by his comrade's behavior, but he was effective in the role of a young boy afraid of his father.\nOttavio's father, Argante, played perfectly by Peter Gerharz, was hilarious in a goofy costume and with a ridiculous English accent. He was as prissy and hoity-toity as you can get, and it was a riot. No less funny was his counterpart, Geronte, stunningly captured by Jayson R. Wickenkamp. Wickencamp effectively played a senile and mean old man.\nThe women were the weak end of the show, which stemmed less from bad acting than from the fact that all of the men were as loud, ridiculous and clownish as they could manage, which upstaged both Jenny Bulla and Sheila Cecilia Regan (Giacinta and Zerbinetta).\n"Scapino!" is a definite must-see. Murray McGibbon's direction is faultless, the acting is superb, the costumes are imaginative and the scenic design is inspired. No detail in this show is left unattended, and the result is a show that will have you rolling on the floor the entire time.