May 28–June 4, 1998

critic pick|theater

Masterpiece Theater

Who says the warmer months require entertainment as lightweight as your wardrobe?

Area theaters have scheduled a roster of heavyweight playwrights to close out their seasons, including the three S's (the theatrical equivalent of music's three B's): William Shakespeare (The Merchant of Venice at the Philadelphia Shakespeare Festival), George Bernard Shaw (Heartbreak House at People's Light) and Stephen Sondheim (Merrily We Roll Along at the Arden).

I hear the scoffing—a writer of musical comedies lumped together with G.B.S. and the Bard? But Sondheim, a brilliant innovator in a quintessential 20th-century art form, deserves a place in the pantheon.

And these three works make an interesting trio, in that each poses a uniquely theatrical conundrum. What do you do about Shylock (and, by extension, the perception of anti-Semitism) in Merchant? How do you classify Heartbreak House, the least characteristic of Shaw's comedies (Shaw thought of it as Chekhovian)? And how do you make a hit out of Merrily, which closed after 16 performances on Broadway in 1981?

We're in for some interesting answers. Philadelphia's Shylock is David Howey, chair of the UArts speech department and a vet of the Royal Shakespeare Company, where he co-starred in a Merchant with Laurence Olivier. People's Light's Heartbreak features Jarlath Conroy, fresh from a critically acclaimed turn in Lantern's Steward of Christendom. And the Arden's big three—Terry Nolen, Aaron Posner and Amy Murphy—feel strong personal links to Merrily's story of three friends and their life in the theater (see Steve Cohen's preview in Critical Mass for further details).

Speaking of modern masters, Merrily is based on a story by the great humorist George S. Kaufman, who's being impersonated on the Walnut Street's studio stage these days by Frank Ferrante, in his new one-man show By George. As for masters of more recent vintage, Birdy, the classic novel by Philadelphia native William Wharton, has been adapted for the stage by acclaimed playwright Naomi Wallace (One Flea Spare) and will have its world premiere May 29 at the Philadelphia Theatre Company.

Birdy, Phila. Theatre Co. at Plays & Players Theatre, 1714 Delancey St., May 29-June 28, 735-0631 or 569-9700. Pay What You Can Dress Rehearsal, Thu., May 28, for benefit of Northern Home for Children.

By George, Walnut St. Theatre, Independence Studio on 3, Ninth & Walnut Sts., through June 14, 574-3550 ext. 4.

Heartbreak House, People's Light & Theatre Co., 39 Conestoga Road, Malvern, June 3-28, (610) 644-3500.

The Merchant of Venice, Phila. Shakespeare Festival at the Adrienne, 2030 Sansom St., May 27-June 21, 569-9700.

Merrily We Roll Along, Arden Theatre Co., 40 N. Second St., 922-8900.

-David Warner