Picture courtesy of Michele Anliker Images
You don’t have to catch each sly apart and jab at pompous British excessive society to totally get pleasure from Nell Benjamin’s Off-Broadway farce “The Explorers Membership,” now kicking off The Dio’s thirteenth season. Underneath the course of Dio co-founder Steve DeBruyne, the manufacturing leans confidently into its absurdity, pairing a terrific ensemble with an equally indulgent dinner expertise. The sold-out crowd I joined was as helpless as I used to be, breaking into near-constant laughter at this delightfully ridiculous sendup of the patriarchy in 1879 London. Benjamin (Tony-nominated for “Legally Blonde”) stuffs the script with loads of jokes, and whereas not each bit lands (can they ever?), the hit charge is so excessive that the occasional miss barely registers. If something, the sheer quantity of punchlines turns into a part of the present’s appeal, a breathless comedian momentum that not often lets up.
From the second the present begins, the joke is already in movement. Matt Tomich’s scenic work operates as a richly appointed clubroom full with leather-based chairs, mounted trophies, darkish wooden paneling, and a well-stocked bar of brandy and cigars. It’s a boys’ membership in each exaggerated sense, so inflexible in its identification that the mere suggestion of change feels sacrilege.
That change arrives within the type of Phyllida Spotte-Hume, performed with buoyant dedication by Sarah B. Stevens, who makes a direct impression as each earnest and quietly subversive. She has, by all logical measures, earned her place within the membership, however logic is hardly the governing precept right here. Chief amongst her detractors is Professor Sloane, performed with scene-stealing zeal by Donovan Leary, whose ongoing horror at “The Girl” turns into a operating gag that by no means overstays its welcome. Leary’s indignation offers the character simply sufficient grounding to make his absurdity land. Reverse him, Mark A. Eddy’s Lucious Fretway floats by way of the chaos with a daft appeal, torn between his obligation to the establishment and his apparent affection for Hume. His try to reconcile these impulses fuels one of many present’s higher comedian engines, particularly when paired with Sloane’s hilariously apocalyptic warnings about sin, temptation, and the imprecise menace of enlightenment.
Hume’s case for admission hinges on her discovery of the NaKong Tribe within the Misplaced Metropolis of Pahatlabong, a premise that instantly indicators the play’s willingness to wade into messy comedic territory. Benjamin’s script pokes enjoyable at colonialist attitudes, although not at all times with the sharpest precision, and sometimes the humor dangers feeling dated quite than pointed. Nonetheless, the introduction of Luigi, performed with fearless dedication by Nicholas Balfour, brings the gag into full, chaotic focus. Painted head to toe in vivid blue (trying like he simply walked out of James Cameron’s “Avatar”) and adorned with tribal trinkets, Luigi exists in a comedic area all his personal. Talking in an invented dialect, with playful assist from dialect coach Cate Gillespie, he reacts greater than he participates, turning into an observer of the absurd society that’s attempting, unsuccessfully, to categorize him.
What retains Luigi from being a one-note joke is Balfour’s physicality and a spotlight to element. Each look, each delayed response, builds a personality who’s each alien to the group and, paradoxically, probably the most trustworthy presence on stage. The operating bits, from his face-slapping greetings to his tribe’s spoon-shaped deity, layer in simply sufficient specificity to raise the character past mere gimmick.
The remainder of the ensemble leans absolutely into the play’s heightened tone, making a whirlwind of intersecting comedian threads. Dale Dobson’s Professor Cope channels manic power as he parades round with “Rosie,” a cobra draped casually round his neck, whereas Dan Morrison as soon as once more proves his knack for bodily comedy and accent work as Professor Walling, whose devotion to his caged guinea pig borders on religious. Christopher Bateson’s Harry Percy arrives halfway by way of the present like a hurricane, injecting a recent burst of chaos as a swaggering explorer whose ego is matched solely by his colleagues who perish on previous expeditions. His presence sharpens the present’s satire of reckless adventurism, and his obsession with immortality fuels a number of the manufacturing’s most tightly executed jokes.
Nonetheless, for all its strengths, the script often overreaches. Some jokes, significantly these tied to cultural satire, really feel extra blunt than incisive, and some operating gags stretch a beat too lengthy. However DeBruyne’s course retains issues transferring at such a brisk tempo that the present not often lingers on its weaker moments. If something, the manufacturing understands that its best asset is ahead momentum, letting the subsequent joke sweep in earlier than the earlier one can absolutely settle.
That momentum peaks in a standout sequence the place the membership, making an attempt to defend Luigi from Sir Humphries (a gleefully officious Gleen Bugala), appoints him as bartender. What follows is among the evening’s greatest laughs, as Luigi hurls drinks throughout the stage with alarming pace, forcing the forged into completely timed, reactive chaos. It’s a sequence that encapsulates every little thing the present does nicely: exact bodily comedy, ensemble belief, and a willingness to push a joke simply far sufficient with out breaking it.
Behind the scenes, the manufacturing’s craftsmanship quietly helps the insanity. Norma Polk’s costumes reinforce the exaggerated class of the setting, whereas Eileen Obradovich’s props add layers of visible humor (the glassware alone turns into a part of the comedy). Joe Wright’s combat choreography ensures that each bodily beat lands cleanly, a necessity in a present so depending on timing and impression.
After which there’s the meal, which feels much less like a gimmick and extra like an extension of the expertise. Whether or not you go for the on-theme bangers and mash or take a safer route with rooster and potatoes, the dinner enhances the present’s tone: hearty, indulgent, and just a bit extreme. Even the intermission apple cobbler, cheekily billed as imported from “Pahatlabong,” performs into the night’s immersive appeal. I’m advised it was arduous to get it by way of customs.
Ultimately, “The Explorers Membership” succeeds not as a result of it’s good, however as a result of it is aware of precisely what it needs to be. It’s massive, foolish, and intermittently sharp, carried by a forged that commits absolutely to its heightened world. If a couple of jokes miss their mark, the sheer velocity and enthusiasm of the efficiency greater than make up for it. DeBruyne and firm have crafted a manufacturing that doesn’t simply invite laughter, it calls for it, and as a rule, it earns it.
THE DIO’s manufacturing of THE EXPLORER’S CLUB continues by way of August ninth. Tickets, which embrace dinner and a present, could be bought right here.