'Precious Nonsense' is a silly show, and that's the point

By Barbara Adams • Correspondent • Ithaca Journal

January 21, 2010, 12:00 am

It's a most ingenious paradox - staging an operetta with only seven actors while offering a parodic homage to William Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan, all in Ithaca's diminutive downtown performance space.

The paradox prevails in the Kitchen Theatre Company's current reprise of its delightful 2005 show, "Precious Nonsense." Artistic director Rachel Lampert has composed both story and lyrics, with grateful indebtedness to Gilbert's lyrics and Sullivan's music.

This time around, Margarett Perry directs, bringing her always-satisfying vision to the Kitchen's space, producing (with Lampert's musical staging) a visually layered comic opera that sweeps you up in its tiny spectacle. It's post- Depression America, and the Carter Family Savoyards are booked into the small-town Blue Barn Theatrical Palace (the charmingly weathered set is by Hannah Davis, lit with splendid texture by Daniel Hall). As music director, Richard Montgomery provides piano accompaniment - along with some atrocious clichés.

The company (mother, father, son Frederic, friend Josephine and stage manager Pete) had counted on performing a revue of G&S favorites, but discover they've been booked for a complete production of "The Pirates of Penzance" instead. No operetta, no pay - so the troupe promotes Pete, adds a mysterious stranger and gives a chance to a stage-struck local kid who knows the G&S repertoire inside out.

Act One assembles all the parts (and conflicts); Act Two presents the hodgepodge "Pirates" in full swing, chaotic with missed cues, endless cross-dressing and wayward moustaches. As Carter company head, Joel Robertson could afford to occupy more space, be more bombastic - both as dad and Major-General; last week, he and stage wife Angelina (Perri LoPinto) only began to shine in the second act's multiple-role mayhem (nicely enhanced by Lisa Boquist's many costumes).

Jesse Bush amusingly presents their slightly dim son Frederic, counting the minutes until his 25th birthday when, no longer "The Slave of Duty," he may leave the troupe to make a life of his own. But Josephine (the sparkling, vocally thrilling Erica Steinhagen) has other plans: The elder Carters want to retire, and if Frederic doesn't continue the company, Jo's meal ticket is likewise gone. Enter Mack, Jo's clever solution (nimbly played by Jessica Carr).

Ithaca College freshman Kurt Merrill holds his own as the gangly, lovesick kid who's game to take on any role. But as funny as this tall lad is in long skirts, the scene-stealer is Jake Paque as Pete - equally smitten with Josephine but much more ambivalent about blustering as the Pirate King. Confident as stage manager, he's speechless the minute he finds himself under the lights, and his timorous handling of his sword is hysterical.

A mid-winter gift of supreme silliness, "Precious Nonsense" makes you glad the show must go on.

* "Precious Nonsense" continues through Feb. 7 at The Kitchen Theatre, 116 N. Cayuga St., Ithaca. Performances are 7:30 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, with matinees at 3 p.m. Saturday and 4 p.m. Sunday. For tickets, call 273-4497.