A bank heist, a corpse and a crazy cast of characters. Joe Orton’s darkly comic masterpiece continues to shock and delight over five decades later. Two young friends, Hal and Dennis, rob a bank next to a funeral parlor… and what safer place to hide the money than in the coffin of Hal’s recently deceased Mum? But with the coffin full up, there’s no room for the corpse, which keeps reappearing at the most inopportune times — especially when the police inspector comes calling. Nothing is safe from Orton’s savage wit, whose targets include religion, social attitudes towards death, police brutality and corruption, and everything in between. June 8 – Aug. 10: Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. with 3 additional weeknight performances on Wed., July 10; Wed., July 31; and Thurs, Aug. 8, all at 8 p.m. Odyssey Theatre, 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd., West Los Angeles, 90025; For reservations and information, call (310) 477-2055 or go to OdysseyTheatre.com.
Loot
Reviews
All the actors are marvelous, with impeccable accents from various regions of the British Isles, and project loudly so no dialogue is lost. Bart DeLorenzo directs with the carefree flair of one born and raised in a madhouse.
Bart DeLorenzo, who directs the current production at the Odyssey, claims the British playwright’s work hasn’t aged. But I beg to differ – the punch of Loot has been diluted by time. Orton’s two act spoof of Agatha Christie-like mysteries featuring detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple on the page and stage may have jolted auds 54 years ago, but for today’s theatergoers (many of whom did not return to their seats after intermission) Loot is passé. What was a “black comedy” when it debuted is now merely gray.
Joe Orton's darkly comic masterpiece LOOT asks us to wipe the fluff from our eyes and see society the way he sees it. As a gay man during a time when British society forced artists into the closet, his farce comically examines a sort of rigged system that benefits bullies and oppressors and controls anyone stupid enough to go along with the lies. Sounds too familiar again in our time.
The cast is superb in bringing life to these characters, except for Selina Woolery Smith who is equally superb as a corpse!
Orton productions are relatively scarce. Probably because they are difficult to pull off successfully. For a start, they are unapologetically British. Then there is Orton’s heightened language, a wonderfully rich concoction with notes of Wilde and Pinter. Most challenging is getting the tone correct. Emphasizing the farcical elements may dull the satiric blade. Playing the scenes too realistically will flatten the comedy. It’s a tightrope that the director must walk throughout rehearsals.
This is some of Bart DeLorenzo’s tightest direction and the farce unfolds with the right amount of bluster and incompetence...
With a production this good - you watch to remember how art can change culture - sometimes by boldly poking it in the eye to help it see more clearly.
The very talented cast gets all the laughs and more... Loot is a hoot! Don’t miss it or you will definitely feel robbed.
Even half a century after it shocked British sensibilities, Loot may still be a bit too scandalous to please those of the prudish persuasion, to which Joe Orton would likely respond, “Well bugger them!” If you ask me, Loot at the Odyssey is an abso-loot delight!
A lot of humor of this work exists in its endless site-gags, some of which, despite the generally excellent acting of the play’s characters, just didn’t quite come off. Yet the wit of Orton’s dialogue is so infectious that even the appearing and disappearing coffin and body, a bit clumsy at moments, doesn’t truly slow down the play much.
Bottitta and his fellow actors play this kind of scabrous humor to perfection, drawing laugh after laugh from the audience. Orton’s anarchic vision of the world is alive and well at the Odyssey.
Bart DeLorenzo’s kinetic staging pays respectful homage to the legacy of Joe Orton and the history of this play, adding all the signature craftiness of which he is such a master. “Wake up! Stop dreaming!” the officious Fay yells to McLeavy at the opening of the play as he sits vigil next to his wife’s onstage coffin. Perhaps this was Orton’s most fervent warning to playgoers in his short stay on our perilous and precarious planet not long before he left it with so much still to say he never got to share. Would that people had been bright enough to listen when the laughter finally ended.
“Outrageous,” “bizarre,” and “ghoulish” are just a few of the adjectives which might be applied to LOOT. Then why is the audience laughing? Author Orton manages to turn the mundane into the unexpected with a sly glance and a sardonic word. Ever the cynic, Orton captures the fantasies society espouses and turns them topsy-turvy.
The reiterative slapstick can wear thin and certain performers seemed a bit shaky on their lines opening weekend. However, all are droll, deft and well cast, with Hormann as the standout of the show playing the father. The actor is a master of comic timing whose subtle double-takes are pure pleasure to watch.
This is a straightforward production, guided with a steady hand by director Bart DeLorenzo, who draws solid performances from the cast. - RECOMMENDED
Orton’s perfectly turned phrasing gives a Wildean resonance to even a seemingly trite aphorism, elevating it to a gem of satirical wit. And no, I’m not going to quote one here for the simple reason that they belong in the context of the play which, without too much carping, I urge you to see.
Enthusiastically directed by Bart DeLorenzo, the cast often plays straight out to the audience in a Brechtian presentational style. The show is as fast paced as a farce should be, and, judging from the audience response on a Sunday afternoon, Loot is clearly a crowd pleasure.
All the actors are marvelous, with impeccable accents from various regions of the British Isles, and project loudly so no dialogue is lost. Bart DeLorenzo directs with the carefree flair of one born and raised in a madhouse.
Bart DeLorenzo, who directs the current production at the Odyssey, claims the British playwright’s work hasn’t aged. But I beg to differ – the punch of Loot has been diluted by time. Orton’s two act spoof of Agatha Christie-like mysteries featuring detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple on the page and stage may have jolted auds 54 years ago, but for today’s theatergoers (many of whom did not return to their seats after intermission) Loot is passé. What was a “black comedy” when it debuted is now merely gray.
Joe Orton's darkly comic masterpiece LOOT asks us to wipe the fluff from our eyes and see society the way he sees it. As a gay man during a time when British society forced artists into the closet, his farce comically examines a sort of rigged system that benefits bullies and oppressors and controls anyone stupid enough to go along with the lies. Sounds too familiar again in our time.
The cast is superb in bringing life to these characters, except for Selina Woolery Smith who is equally superb as a corpse!
Orton productions are relatively scarce. Probably because they are difficult to pull off successfully. For a start, they are unapologetically British. Then there is Orton’s heightened language, a wonderfully rich concoction with notes of Wilde and Pinter. Most challenging is getting the tone correct. Emphasizing the farcical elements may dull the satiric blade. Playing the scenes too realistically will flatten the comedy. It’s a tightrope that the director must walk throughout rehearsals.
This is some of Bart DeLorenzo’s tightest direction and the farce unfolds with the right amount of bluster and incompetence...
With a production this good - you watch to remember how art can change culture - sometimes by boldly poking it in the eye to help it see more clearly.
The very talented cast gets all the laughs and more... Loot is a hoot! Don’t miss it or you will definitely feel robbed.
Even half a century after it shocked British sensibilities, Loot may still be a bit too scandalous to please those of the prudish persuasion, to which Joe Orton would likely respond, “Well bugger them!” If you ask me, Loot at the Odyssey is an abso-loot delight!
A lot of humor of this work exists in its endless site-gags, some of which, despite the generally excellent acting of the play’s characters, just didn’t quite come off. Yet the wit of Orton’s dialogue is so infectious that even the appearing and disappearing coffin and body, a bit clumsy at moments, doesn’t truly slow down the play much.
Bottitta and his fellow actors play this kind of scabrous humor to perfection, drawing laugh after laugh from the audience. Orton’s anarchic vision of the world is alive and well at the Odyssey.
Bart DeLorenzo’s kinetic staging pays respectful homage to the legacy of Joe Orton and the history of this play, adding all the signature craftiness of which he is such a master. “Wake up! Stop dreaming!” the officious Fay yells to McLeavy at the opening of the play as he sits vigil next to his wife’s onstage coffin. Perhaps this was Orton’s most fervent warning to playgoers in his short stay on our perilous and precarious planet not long before he left it with so much still to say he never got to share. Would that people had been bright enough to listen when the laughter finally ended.
“Outrageous,” “bizarre,” and “ghoulish” are just a few of the adjectives which might be applied to LOOT. Then why is the audience laughing? Author Orton manages to turn the mundane into the unexpected with a sly glance and a sardonic word. Ever the cynic, Orton captures the fantasies society espouses and turns them topsy-turvy.
The reiterative slapstick can wear thin and certain performers seemed a bit shaky on their lines opening weekend. However, all are droll, deft and well cast, with Hormann as the standout of the show playing the father. The actor is a master of comic timing whose subtle double-takes are pure pleasure to watch.
This is a straightforward production, guided with a steady hand by director Bart DeLorenzo, who draws solid performances from the cast. - RECOMMENDED
Orton’s perfectly turned phrasing gives a Wildean resonance to even a seemingly trite aphorism, elevating it to a gem of satirical wit. And no, I’m not going to quote one here for the simple reason that they belong in the context of the play which, without too much carping, I urge you to see.
Enthusiastically directed by Bart DeLorenzo, the cast often plays straight out to the audience in a Brechtian presentational style. The show is as fast paced as a farce should be, and, judging from the audience response on a Sunday afternoon, Loot is clearly a crowd pleasure.