NICAEA TRY

Oh, Constantine! at the Zephyr Theatre is an odd nut to crack. Or I should say review.

One of the best-produced shows at the Fringe, this is the brainchild of playwright / director / producer Jan-David Soutar, with producers Athena Rethis and Clent Bowers, production designer Courtney Stepleton, lighting designer Miles Berman, and finally costume designer Hailey Springer (who gets three gold stars for her work).

No, the production aspects cannot be faulted. There is plenty of panache in the show, and loads of intelligence too (hell, it’s a semi-musical comedy about the First Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D!). There is also no lack of talent on the stage.

Cameron Ley as Constantine, the emperor who transformed the Roman Empire from paganism to Christianity in between killing folks, Carmen Ellrdot as his wife Fausta (killed her), Nandi Sharma as his son Crispus (him too), Marlena Hummel as his sister Constantia (didn’t kill her – had her husband hanged), Jennifer Lamar as his mother Helena (died before Constantine got around to killing her), along with Cole Parker, Nestor Vinelli, Gabriel Bellotti, Clayton Myers, and the ever popular Guy Picot all give their best and their best is pretty darn good.

But one can observe in the production a woe common to many shows with a sizable cast. A particular stiffness in the joints, noticeable when scenes are called to shift rapidly or several actors must congregate or exit. It’s a hobble, a wobble that betrays the lack of sufficient rehearsal involving the complete cast.

Comedies especially suffer from the absence of full cast rehearsal in that these occasions tend to be engines that can rev up the humor of a piece, as the interaction of actors provides the horsepower that accelerates the laughter on stage.

Oh, Constantine! was good fun.

But I left the Zephyr Theatre somewhat disappointed, convinced there was more comic gold in the show that hadn’t been mined.

Oh, Constantine!
The Society of the Cellar
Zephyr Theatre, 7456 Melrose Ave.
part of the Hollywood Fringe
ended on June 29, 2025
for show info, visit Oh, Constantine!