Theater Review - Anything to Declare?

Anything to Declare?

Written by Maurice Hennequin and Pierre Veber

(Translated and Adapted by Greg Leaming)

Directed by Steve Tague

Where: Thompson Theatre at the Roselle Center for the Arts
(University of Delaware, Newark, DE)

When: Saturday, December 1, 2:00pm

Photo credit from the REP

Last season, the University of Delaware's Resident Ensemble Players put on one of the best things I've ever seen on stage with their version of Noises Off.  After having seen that production twice, the troupe's annual trek into rip-roaring comedy was going to have a lot to live up to, and while this year's Anything to Declare never reached the tear-inducing laughter I experienced during Michael Frayn's brilliant British farce, this little seen 1906 French play certainly has its share of fun proving once again that the REP is simply a nice gem in the state of Delaware.

Taking the spotlight this time around (in my opinion, anyway) is REP member Mic Matarrese who is comedically brilliant as Robert De Trivelin, a recently married man who was unable to consummate his relationship with his wife Paulette (Deena Burke) while on their month-long honeymoon thanks to the inopportune interruption of a train's customs inspector.  After his wealthy in-laws -- Adelaide (Kathleen Pirkl Tague) and Benjamin Dupont (Stephen Pelinski) -- discover Robert's unfortunate predicament, they give him three days to "do his husbandly duty" or else they'll have the marriage annulled and allow Paulette to wed the diabolical looking, though emotionally distraught La Baule (Michael Gotch). Taking the advice of his wife's godfather Philippe Couzan (guest actor Torrey Hanson), Robert pays a visit to the town trollop Zeze (Elizabeth Heflin) for a little reinvigoration only to find himself upon his arrival caught in the midst of some hilarious Dupont family secrets.

As already mentioned, Mr. Matarrese was the shining star this time around, playing Robert with just the right amounts of nervous tension and steadfast resolve to win back the hand of his wife.  His predicament is rather ridiculous, but in Matarrese's hands it comes off surprisingly believable.  While the whole cast was wonderful, kudos also go out to guest actor Torrey Hanson who despite having one of the least pivotal characters in the overarching storyline still proved to be fantastic at delivering some deadpan comedic lines that had me laughing out loud.

The REP continues its tradition of beautiful costumes and sets, the latter of which includes a charming French artist's loft in Act II that was lovely to look at and also provided one of the funnier slapstick moments involving a "falling" member of the cast.  The play itself is perhaps the only weak link here as I think director Steve Tague did all that he could to move the nearly three hour affair along at a surprisingly brisk pace.  But, the fact remains that a play that is this light-hearted and lacking of any real depth really shouldn't be three hours long.  The fault falls more on the original playwrights than anyone else, but the cast does such a good job with even the most ridiculous of plots that you can almost look beyond the inanity of it all.

Anything to Declare has been selling out like crazy (which is fantastic for this wonderful troupe) and there are only five shows left before it ends its run.  It certainly may be something you'd want to check out.