Tuesday, November 25, 1997
Karamazov Brothers cater ‘Room Service’ to audience with flying
colors
THEATER: Slapstick grace, attention-grabbing tactics keep
spectators on toes
By Kristi Nakamura
Daily Bruin Contributor
With a colorfully painted backdrop of 12-foot-tall, half-naked
women, a man clad only in boxer shorts playing the horn in bed and
another man ranting about like only a maniac or a possessed actor
in search of funding would, the stage is set for The Flying
Karamazov Brothers’ presentation of "Room Service."
Through Dec. 21, Paul Magid, Howard Jay Patterson, Michael
Preston and Sam Williams, collectively known as The Flying
Karamazov Brothers, will entertain audiences at the Mark Taper
Forum.
The "Room Service" script, made famous by The Marx Brothers in
their 1938 movie with the same title, chronicles the comical
predicaments of a poor producer who will do anything to dodge
eviction from the White Way Hotel while he tries to obtain funding
for a new Broadway play.
The Flying Karamazov Brothers take their cues from the Marx
Brothers’ original, but give "Room Service" their own personal
flavor in adaptation. The Karamazov production is set up as a play
within a play within a play. It sounds confusing, but somehow it
works for The Karamazov Brothers in terms of comedy.
The four Karamazov Brothers perform all 14 characters within the
play, switching off with ease. They besiege the audience with
visual and auditory stimulation throughout the show. The Karamazov
Brothers are constantly moving and providing witty remarks and
quick banter about various social and political issues, from Social
Security to Marv Albert. The sexual innuendos are endless.
The social commentary adds a dimension of intellect that keeps
the performance from turning into strictly slapstick humor. The
introduction of the "Gill Bates" character, who enters at the end
of the show to finance the production, is well done and
appropriately random.
However, those sitting in the front section should beware. The
Karamazov Brothers are very much into audience participation. The
foursome is not above yelling at audience members to help take care
of the characters’ problems, offering spontaneous hugs and even
spraying a little water from the water bottle into the first few
rows. The Karamazov Brothers encourage the audience to applaud or
hiss in reaction to comments, events and actions.
With lively song, dance, juggling and light tumbling, The
Karamazov Brothers appear as a sort of troupe of circus clowns,
humorously pathetic in their attempt to create Broadway-caliber
musical production numbers.
Although the song, dance and juggling were great assets to the
Karamazov production of "Room Service," enhancing the entertainment
and comedic value of the show, much of the tumbling leaves
something to be desired. The "flying" skills exhibited on stage are
unimpressive when juxtaposed with the grandness of the rest of the
production.
Among the most captivating aspects of the performance is the
scene where the four Karamazov Brothers are sitting around a table
bouncing rubber balls and creating surprisingly musical rhythms
using solely their hands, the table and balls, and impeccable skill
and timing.
The Karamazov Brothers give "Room Service" an air of
unpredictability, a sort of improvisational aura. There is the
feeling that each night’s audience gets a different show depending
on their reactions and The Karamazov Brothers’ mood that night.
For the most part, there is a constant effort to grab and
maintain audience fascination, changing pace fast enough to hold
even the most attention deficient. However, even the wild antics of
The Flying Karamazov Brothers cannot keep the production from
dragging a little through the middle. As the three confusingly
similar play-within-a-play-within-a-play storylines converge, the
audience becomes bogged down trying to separate them.
The breaks between scenes are a welcome change from the constant
barrage of action and help to clear the audience’s head for the
next fusillade of excitement. An orange, singing sun floating
across a cloudy gray sky above the set, or a little white blimp
that spontaneously explodes and falls from the sky between set
changes, are cleverly simple additions that keep audience attention
without being overwhelming.
Even with the breaks, audience members should know that they
should be prepared to expend a liberal amount of energy just
watching the performance. The Karamazov Brothers’ "Room Service" is
so engaging that it can drain the life from those who arrive
already tired.
Indefatigable or not, the audience can readily see throughout
"Room Service" the enjoyment the Karamazov Brothers gain from
performing. It’s clear that the show is as much fun for them to
perform as it is for the audience to watch.
THEATER: The Flying Karamazov Brothers perform "Room Service" at
the Mark Taper Forum/Music Center, 135 N. Grand Ave. through Dec.
21. Tickets are $29-$37. Public rush, "Juggle/Pay What You Can" and
senior tickets are available. For more information, call (213)
628-2772.
MTF Press
The Flying Karamazov Brothers, (left to right) Howard Jay
Patterson, Paul Magid, Michael Preston and Sam Williams, star in
"Room Service."