The title above says Sweet Revenge. But the full title of this version of a classic Polish comedy as translated by Upstream Theatre’s founding artistic director Phillip Boehm is Sweet Revenge as Performed by the Juliusz Stowacki Players, St. Louis, 1933.
Zemsta, as it was called in Polish, was written in 1833, and soon became a staple in the schools in Poland. Many of the phrases he coined in the writing of the play have come into common usage there. It’s maintained its popularity with frequent performances, and even adaptation into a 2002 film.
So it’s logical that an amateur theatrical group would be performing it 80-plus years ago here in St. Louis – because there actually was a group called the Julius Slowacki Theatrical Society with amateur actors. Their last performance was in 1959. There’s some information on them on the last page of the program, and the photo of the group was taken at the old Sts. Cyril and Methodius Polish church in north St. Louis.
Do people laugh at the same things they did 184 years ago? Well, sometimes they do, especially when it’s handled by great veterans like Whit Reichert and John Contini. It’s all about a real estate problem that’s become a family feud between two affluent upper-class gentlemen, played with gusto by the aforementioned. There’s young romance with Reichert’s ward, Caitlin Mickey, being gaga over Pete Winfrey, who plays Contini’s son, and they have a fine time, too, even as Winfrey is being pursued by Jane Paradise, as a landed widow with whom he’d previously had a little fun. Eric J. Conners is, by turns, a majordomo, a cook and a mason, all characters busy fending off the two big shots.
Because the dramatic conceit is that this is amateur theatrics, it’s only logical that things are played broadly, not quite to the point where one is aching for some nice eggs to go with the ham, but there’s really no need for subtlety here anyway. There’s enough of that in the script, which was originally written and is still, per Boehm’s translation, in verse. At first, it’s almost distracting, but after a while, it just catches the ear now and then with some particular bit of cleverness.
Boehm directed the play himself, and keeps thing moving at a perfect pace, neither breakneck nor plodding, with just the right pauses for laughter. It’s the work of a fine, light hand.
Patrick Huber’s scenic design shows off the proximity of the two properties very well, and Laura Hanson’s costumes are elegantly handsome. The scenery, including a curtain that pays homage to the original one seen in the photo of the Theatrical Society, was painted by Erica Ahl, Mary Hopkins and Cristie Johnson.
All in all, it’s so lighthearted, one might overlook the word “deathless” in describing it. But on the other hand, it’s lived 184 years, so maybe….
Sweet Revenge
through October 22, 2017
Kranzberg Arts Center
501 N. Grand
314-669-6382
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