ONE MAN, TWO HOURS TOO LONG

Ask yourself how much you liked The Play That Goes Wrong series. That’s a pretty good indicator as to your enjoyment of Richard Bean’s 2011 play, One Man, Two Guvnors, now running at A Noise Within. If you liked it, stop reading and go. You’ll have a great time. I, on the other hand, found Bean’s play a tremendous bore, a misfire on nearly every level.

The Ensemble

It’s 1963 in Brighton, and stupid yet clever Francis is hungry. So hungry, that he worms his way into the employ of two masters, which, for some unstated reason, he must keep secret. Of course, being a farce, both bosses give him identical tasks at the same time, seriously mixing him up. Along the way there are gangsters, dumb blonds, dumb parents, and other archetypes that are supposed to be hilarious.

Paul David Story, Cassandra Marie Murphy and ensemble

The production starts well enough. A lively four-piece skiffle band, too loud but not painfully so, plays while the audience enters. Then the full company bursts onto the stage in an energetic, exciting musical number. After that, everything was downhill. Acting is extremely broad, not necessarily a bad thing, but instead of wit, the writing tries to pass off pandering and non-sequiturs as humor. There are frequent “impromptu” direct addresses to the audience, but they feel written and rehearsed. Also thrown in is some pathetic audience participation, including one instance when Francis grabs a pair of patrons from the audience and places them behind a door. That’s it. There’s no joke there, but people all around me were laughing hysterically. On paper, a lot of the show sounds pretty funny: ridiculously dumb people using silly voices, Francis arguing with himself, pileups of crossed paths and door slams, but it all felt so stale and I could see right through it.

Kasey Mahaffy, Trisha Miller and Ensemble

The show revolves around irresistible Kasey Mahaffy as Francis, who is so energetic that when he’s not in a scene, the show sags. Ty Aldridge (Stanley), Henri Lubatti (Charlie), Christie Coran (Rachel), Paul David Stary (Alan), and Cassandra Marie Murphy (Pauline) all give solid turns. Best of all was the skiffle band, led by music director Rod Bagheri. Trisha Miller, who stunned in last season’s Misalliance, is wasted as Dolly. Vic Crusaos was completely believable as audience member Cristine Patterson, until the final gag of her scene spoiled the illusion, revealing her to be a plant. Less successful were Luis Kelly-Duarte as Lloyd Boateng, who was the only cast member not overacting, and Josey Montana McCoy as old waiter Alfie, who looked like a young man wearing oldface.

The Ensemble

Direction by Julia Rodriguez-Elliott and Geoff Elliott is loud, fast, and blunt, lacking the nuance I’ve come to expect from A Noise Within. This is made worse by the decision to amplify, which, to put in visual terms, is like watching a movie entirely in extreme closeup with non-stop yelling, even when the actors are speaking softly. Sound designer Jeff Gardner does what he can, but the balance is off. Solo vocalists regularly overpower background vocals and full chorus to oblivion. Aside from the record-adorned proscenium arch, sets by Frederica Nascimento are bland and look cheap, mostly serving as screens for Nick Santiago’s serviceable projection design. Fight choreography by Ken Merckx looked obvious and safe; I could practically see the actors winding up for each stunt. However, Garry Lennon’s colorful costumes were always a pleasure to look at.

Kasey Mahaffy

Act II starts with a complete change in tone. Francis, speaking out of character, gives us a lecture about “the Harlequin character,” the first interesting thing the play has done up to this point. Alas, this was more pandering (which seemed aimed at me) and then discarded, giving way to a brand new, weaker, plot, bringing the running time up to 135 minutes.

Cassandra Marie Murphy and Henry Lubatti

I was in the very small minority who found One Man, Two Guvnors a dull affair. It’s a play that doesn’t have much to say, but makes a lot of noise. Had I not been on assignment, I would have left at intermission. The play never even explained why, in 1963, it was wrong to have two guvnors, nor did the characters care much when all was revealed. The whole endeavor felt pointless.

Josey Montana McCoy

photos by Craig Schwartz

One Man, Two Guvnors
A Noise Within
3352 E Foothill Blvd in Pasadena
Thurs-Sat at 7:30; Sat & Sun at 2
ends on September 28, 2025
for tickets, call 626.356.3100 visit A Noise Within

for more shows, visit Theatre in LA