The Misadventures of Robin Hood Premiere - by N.L. Belardes

Before you read my mediocrity in capturing a narrative atmosphere last night of the most excellent Misadventures of Robin Hood premiere, get a taste of theatre from The Queen of the Downtown Fur herself…take a look at Enrique Fuentes series I’m going to call Dysfunctional Theatre Reviews.


Enrique's review captures this glittery scene...

As for me, I walked down to the Spotlight Theatre on a strangely cool evening for the month of April. I felt like I was scooting along the Pismo Pier on the coast the way the breeze shot through me as I walked. I entered the theatre feeling a little apprehensive, a little chilled, and wanting one of those fine roast beef sandwiches I hear Ben from Broken Record Gospel knows how to slam together. I hadn’t been to a play in some time. I get so stir crazy even at movies these days. Would I fidget my way out of the theatre in the first thirty minutes? But then I remembered who was directing the play: award-winning director Roger Mathey, the same guy I bumped into downtown a few days before thinking he was none other than… someone else. Boy did I feel like a schleprock later as I thought, wait, that was Roger Mathey, the great LA and Bakersfield theatre director, the man who pays attention to detail in his great witty style, so full of humor, as he has the ability to thread jokes, scenes, characters, settings, scene transitions, all together in a way that has your attention from the moment his play entangles you in his vision of how suspension of disbelief should be grappled.



The Misadventures of Robin Hood is a hilarity to behold in a quaint theatre with incredible sound, lighting, great snacks, pleasant workers, and in a rustic old building that has you wondering just how many ghosts might be hovering behind the scenes from days of bank-telling and hiding trinkets in vaults.

The simplicity and boldness of the lighting is what originally grabbed my attention as I entered the theatre, but then when the play began my attention transitioned almost completely to the characters, the believability of their very nature of vigilantism gone hilarious in the middle of the strange forest of Sherwood. The jokes fly from the outset, and because I’m not the type to give much away, I will say that Mathey sets up his characters in a way that has you laughing just watched a colorful episode of the Three Stooges. There’s slapstick humor throughout, complete with strange transvestite merry men, a punk Sheriff of Nottingham (Enrique says Sherriff of Naughtyham) two rather annoying kings (don’t worry, you’re supposed to hate these buffoons), a rather hilarious Maid Marian sidekick complete with noxious fume humor, a friar who likes his women as hot as he likes his Kentucky Fried chicken, and an all-too-sleepy hot-under-the-collar queen. Oh, and there’s many more characters, all of which are guided superbly by a witty innuendo-filled dialogue—all through Mathey’s wizardry in detailing such a comedy of Robin Hood foolery.



Robin Hood and Maid Marian's simplistic yet hilarious love story is a sight to behold. Both Rikk Chesire and Sarah Downie pull off their characters with bravado. They're both tough characters to play because more than the others their love shenanigans need to pull off a sense of honesty while blended with a wacky taste of Mathey's detail in ironic homoerotic innuendos. I thought they were just as funny as all the Friar Tuck scenes which seemed to steal a lot of their gusto. He was easily my favorite character as the juvenile in me was a sucker for all the gas humor in his ode to Helen of Troy, oh, and Cleopatra shooting down the Nile...zompwhompzompzompwhomp!, hahahehehehehahaha... see, there I go...



During the intermission I noticed the crowd was very talkative downstairs. Here was a great downtown energy of theatergoers, all wanting to partake in a theatre opening night experience, with the director himself chumming it up downstairs in the crowd. I considered cornering him for an interview… but why torture the man? I hovered until I got my roast beef sandwich, and snapped a photo of Ben I will use as bribe material if he continues to never give me a shout out during Broken Record Gospel shows.



Did I mention I was impressed with the lighting? There was a creepy shadow-driven effect of moonlight and sunlight through a leafy canopy. I could feel the green forest verdure as if I had just transported with the audience to Mathey’s wonderland in dreamy costume-esque misadventures. I think I may have to go back and watch this play again just to try and catch all the details. I know I missed a lot the first time around. I stared so much at the shadowy leaf effects that all I can say is I was reminded once again that theatre has the same power as a great film: to believe you are not who you are, or where you are for just a few moments in time… a few moments where you’re believing what a visionary director would have you believe… go to the Spotlight and have a good time.

This entry was posted by N.L. Belardes, on Saturday, April 23, 2005. You can leave your response.