THEATRE REVIEW: " Barrymore" @ AVALON THEATRE
BY: ANDREA BRAUN, THEATRE ARTS CORRESPONDENT
Legend has it that when John Barrymore died, his friends, including actor Errol Flynn and director Raoul Walsh gathered in a bar to mark the occasion. Walsh left, and with the help of a couple of co-conspirators, stole Barrymore’s still un-embalmed body from the funeral home, took it to Errol Flynn’s house, and propped it up in a chair. When Flynn came home, he was extremely drunk, but sobered up quickly in terror as he saw “Jack” sitting right there. He claimed to have screamed his head off, and even when he learned it was a joke, was unable to sleep all that night.
Is this story true? Who knows? It’s about the only one John Contini didn’t tell among the outrageous statements and actions attributed to Barrymore during his very large life. Of course, he couldn’t have related it, since the play takes place in 1942, one month before “The Great Profile’s” death at 60. He lived fast, and he died young, but it was too late to leave a good looking corpse. He remains vain to the end, however, since he seeks reassurance from the prompter (Scott McMasters as “Frank,” unseen but heard throughout the show) he has hired to help him prepare for a comeback as Richard III. “I don’t look middle-aged, do I?” Barrymore asks. “Not anymore, sir,” Frank says flatly.
Contini is Artistic Associate at Avalon Theatre which is producing Barrymore directed by Managing Artistic Director Erin Kelley who also designed the costumes and props. Larry Mabrey, Producing Artistic Director, is responsible for scenic, lighting and sound design. So, this is a real family production. All the elements are handled with finesse. Before the show starts, a ghost light illuminates an empty theatre containing a throne on a platform upstage (covered in Act I, uncovered and used in II) a mirror, some prop swords, a chair, trunk and a bowl of apples, the meaning of which is explained by Barrymore some time after he enters wheeling a costume rack.
Contini plays Barrymore as a likeable, genial drunk. That, according to all accounts I’ve seen, is mostly accurate, though he could get mean. However, I don’t feel like he ever quite conveys the tragedy (William Luce, the author, calls it “pathos,” but I’m not sure Aristotle would agree) of the most talented member of a legendary acting family who worked in movies (fine by brother Lionel; beneath him, according to sister, Ethel) and on stage. His Hamlet is still considered one of the finest ever. We do get glimpses of this as he does perform Hamlet’s two best-known soliloquies, “To be or not to be. . .” and “What a piece of work is man. . . .” The latter near the end of the show finally gives the audience a sense of what Barrymore has drunk and pissed away: genius.
Contini consistently entertains the audience with bons mots and impressions of his friends and family. He is sympathetic as a child living with his “mum mum,” his maternal grandmother who was a member of the Drew family of actors. He must sleep in the attic though he fears the dark. His mother has died, his father marries often (in fact, Barrymore here claims his first sexual experience was with his stepmother—and it’s a funny story) and there is little security for the Barrymore kids. Naturally, they all go reluctantly into the family business, which he compares to “dry goods or hardware.”
Luce either tells the audience too much or too little, depending on your knowledge of Barrymoriana. Contini gets lots of laughs when he imitates Lionel, but then everyone knows Mr. Potter, the meanest man in
Because he knows no other way, Barrymore is trying to resurrect his career with Richard III, his second-best known Shakespeare performance. He realizes he’s too old for Hamlet (of course, that didn’t stop him the first time, as he was 43 then). With his renaissance as an actor, he believes also will come his reinvigoration as a man who is “trying to turn his limp noodle into a bushwhacker.”
And how he does go on about the ladies! Married four times, each for seven years (not accurate, but a nice bit of parallelism), there are plenty of anecdotes about the wives. He apparently loved only one, his third, Delores Costello, an actress, whom he said he divorced because he loved her too much to force her to be married to him. Overall, he notes that “Divorces cost more than marriages, but they’re worth it.”
All along, Barrymore alternates talking to the audience (a “monster with 2,000 eyes and 20,000 teeth”) and the patient Frank. We learn that Frank is 4-F because he’s homosexual (“Did you have to tell them?” Barrymore asks. “No,” says Frank, “They could just tell.”). Frank clearly cares about the broken down actor and finally reminds him of who he was and what he should still be. But there are flippancies in their exchanges, as well. For example, Frank asks, “What were you last in, Mr. Barrymore?” “I believe it was Joan Crawford,” Barrymore deadpans.
Finally, though, whether you know anything about Barrymore or not, if you love language and fine acting, you will enjoy this show. Contini is in top form, and that’s saying a lot. McMasters adds a great deal to the proceedings from the wings. You will leave the theatre with snippets of Hamlet and Lear, Richard and Othello, and other iconic characters and poems lingering in your mind and heart. Now that’s entertainment.
Barrymore runs at The Avalon Theatre through July 12. Call 314-351-6482 or visit www.avalontheatre.org.
