By Michele Markarian
Shipwrecked! An Entertainment – Written by Donald Marguiles. Directed by Allison Olivia Choat. Presented by Moonbox Productions, Boston Center for the Arts, 539 Tremont Street, Boston, MA through December 29.
“Welcome to this temple of imagination…” begins Mssr. Louis de Rougemont (Kevin Cirone), as he prepares to tell us his life story. A sickly child, Louis is kept in bed 24/7 by his doting, scone-baking mother (Charlotte Kinder), who reads books of adventure to her son every day. He sneaks outdoors at the age of sixteen, and upon feeling the sun on his face for the first time, decides to have some adventures of his own by running off to London. His reluctant mother gives him her life’s savings, which is stolen his first night in the city. By chance, Louis meets Captain Jensen (Arthur Gomez) who, as captain of the aptly named Wonder World, takes him on as crew for a pearl-seeking expedition. Louis befriends a dog, Bruno (Sarah Gazdowicz), is marooned on a seemingly deserted island, meets three displaced natives, marries one of them, Yamba (Luz Lopez) and has two daughters before returning home to England via Australia. Despite not having seen her son for thirty years, Louis’s mother recognizes him, and encourages him to tell his tale to the world, which he does.
Up until this point, the narrative has been going swimmingly, leaving this audience member wondering, “Well, okay. Other than the fine acting of the cast, is this just a buoyant tale of adventure?” No! It isn’t! Things take a dark turn for Louis, and the verisimilitude of his story is called into question, despite his insistence of its truth. Like The Life of Pi, one can only conject. Truth is in the eyes of its beholder, despite the fact that Louis’s tale has more holes than the Wonder World in a tempest.
It’s a strange play, first light, then dark. Performed without an intermission, Shipwrecked! feels like two discrete pieces, as the tone changes dramatically after Louis publishes his memoirs. The large ensemble, adeptly directed by Choat, is terrific. Kevin Cirone, who is onstage the entire time, does an outstanding job playing the various stages of Louis, from small boy to old man. He has great comic timing, and a considerable amount of charm. It’s a role that could easily be perceived as glib if not played well, but Cirone is so good that he keeps us emotionally engaged. Gazdowicz, who like the rest of the cast performs a number of roles, is amazing as Bruno, from her facial expressions to her growls (she and Cirone have one of the more touching moments in the play). Gomez gives Captain Jensen the appropriate bluster. Miraculously, the British accents throughout the piece are uniformly impressive and consistent. What’s really fun is the music, under the direction of Dan Rodriguez. The cast not only sings, but plays instruments, either as accompaniment or as part of the vivid sound effects. At the end of the 90-minute show, the truth is less important than the value of the entertainment, which is pretty valuable indeed. For tickets and info, go to: http://www.moonboxproductions.org/
