Reverse Psychology

Critiqued by Holly Bartges

Reverse Psychology currently playing at Germinal Stage Denver rides high the rails of laughter rolled into sheer unadulterated pure silly, ridiculous, funny. Playwright Charles Ludlam dedicated his theatrical life to exploring the ridiculous, and GSD pumps up his 1980 play with silly, honest laughter.

Flavia Florezell as Karen and Casey Jones as Eleanor in Germinal Stage Denver's production of Reverse Psychology

Inside the laughability of Reverse Psychology is the idea behind this production that it really could happen, if it hasn’t already somewhere in this orb called earth.

Even if it has happened for real, the scenario couldn’t be as brilliantly projected as it is on the Germinal’s stage.

Directed and designed by Ed Baierlein, the stage setting, although changes places frequently, makes target use of basic materials: a desk, a few benches, a couple of chairs, a plain backdrop to hang signs and the stage becomes a sleazy motel, an art museum, a psychiatrist office, a vacation hideaway. Simple creativity works its way into the scenic design allowing the rich characters to tell their story.

Rich characters? Well, that’s one way to put it.

Leonard and Karen are psychiatrists, married to each other. Both end up having affairs with each other’s patients, Eleanor and Freddie. Billed as a farce, Reverse Psychology Incorporates slap stick, a touch of vaudeville, a dash of 1930 comedic film techniques while it takes a stab at the psychiatric profession, pretentious artists, and modern sexual confusion with a splash of cross dressing. The play has an all female cast, except for one on a time schedule who insists the play must keep moving right along even if it means taking the phone out of the hands of one talking. More about him later; much more about him later.

From the audience it is difficult to tell that two of the female cast members are playing men, even when it comes down to one who happens to be one of Denver’s prime actors, Deborah Persoff. Persoff plays Leonard, and plays him to the hilt. With consistent altered voice, and deliberate slap stick vaudevillian comedic moves. If one didn’t know Persoff, if one had never seen her before, one would never know, scurrying to squeeze in a second look at the program. The transformation across the boards is totally astonishing.

Likewise, Concetta Troskie who plays the artist, Freddie, making her GSD debut with this production, her transformation from Troskie to Freddie is mind blowing. It was difficult to imagine the beautiful actor I met after the show was the same one who trotted around the stage as the arrogant, flamboyant Freddie. Both Persoff and Troskie show facial muscles on stage one never knew existed. How anyone could keep a straight face during rehearsals is beyond me.

Under a sign reading Sleaziest Motel In Town Leonard Silver and Eleanor (Casey Jones) find themselves in bed with Eleanor lamenting “I wish I were a man so I could be my own lover”.

They break out in a song called Crazy, which the characters frequently sing throughout the play, in between scenes, leading the audience in a sing-a-long at the end of the performance.

With the assistance of the Atlantic City Man noted in the program as George Spelvin wearing a sailor hat, a sleeveless T-Shirt, a cigar hanging out of his mouth, and a total deadpan expression, the sign gets changed to The Metropolitan Museum of Art. You may have never heard the name George Spelvin, but the person buried deep within the persona is most notable as Baierlein himself. Although the ridiculous, silly, outrageous play is worth a thousand and one laughs all by itself, Spelvin’s antics are worth a thousand more. He’s part of yet separate, deliberately on a time schedule, and when it is time to move on, it is time to move on. Telephones are carried off stage while characters are still talking, desks get moved, chairs get moved and it doesn’t matter who sits behind them or in them. Spelvin has a job to do, and by gum, he will see to it the job gets done.

Jones, also making her debut appearance at GSD, takes Eleanor for a wild scatter brained dumb blond hysterical roller coaster ride. With large eyes rolling, she emphasizes the “need”, the wanting, to fake orgasms, and going on out of control shopping sprees buying things she doesn’t need, ie: a lawn mower while she lives in an apartment. If she needs one item she may buy ten or more.

In the Museum Freddie runs into Karen. Flavia Florezell, also making her GSD debut, engages Freddie in art conversation. Overly pretentious as though he is the number one knowledgeable artist in the universe, Freddie convinces Karen there is only one painting in the entire museum worth looking at, which happens to be a very small painting close to the floor. In his flamboyant inarticulate explanation of the painting, Karen falls all over herself in agreement.

Reverse Psychology runs from one Funny head long into another Funny. When Freddie decides to paint Eleanor’s portrait, it is done with his back to the audience so the drawing, if it can be called that, can be seen by the audience, which is about as simplistic as a drawing can get.

Of course the four cross paths at the Calypso Beach Boatel. Karen has come across a new drug RP (Reverse Psychology). Its affect lasts a short while, but that short while turns chaos into Chaos. Smelling with an array of pungent, sweet, nauseating odors, the person who takes it faints becoming attracted to the least person they normally would. It’s a drenching moment with Eleanor getting slapped in the face with drinks, eventually saving everyone a lot of trouble by throwing her drink in her face herself. With a wet stage, in the middle of the scene, George does not hesitate to use the mop, all the while maintaining his otherworldly deadpan expression.

To pull this play off for its intended rhyme and reason, it demands top notch artistic actors who understand the mode, are able to maintain brilliant repetitive comedic moves, cling to a voice memory of a particular cadence without missing one beat. This cast has it, owns it, and delivers it.

There are two strong reasons to not miss Reverse Psychology. One, the silly, ridiculous, outrageous stance the play assumes, and two, the wondrous performances by Jones, Persoff, Florezell, and Troskie. And, yes, one must not forget Spelvin, simply because the sleeveless, sailor hat wearing, cigar chewing, dead pan Atlantic City Man will be ingrained in the brain forever.

On a scale of one to ten for laughability satisfaction, with ten being the highest, Reverse Psychology rates fifteen plus. Call now for reservations. Your laugh lines will love you forever.