`BULLSHOT' HITS FARCICAL TARGET STRAIGHT ON.Byline: Victoria Giraud Special to the Daily News The fall must be silly comedy season. ``Bullshot Crummond This article is about a play. For other meanings, see Bullshot (disambiguation). A stage play parodying the British pulp hero Bulldog Drummond, Bullshot Crummond was written by Ron House, Diz White, John Neville-Andrews, Alan Shearman, and Derek Cunningham. ,'' presented by Moorpark College Moorpark College is a California-state funded community college located on a 134 acre (542,000 m²) property reclining on a hill in Moorpark, a town in Ventura County, California. , is the third farce I've seen recently, but it's probably the jolliest. It's certainly the most physical with its chases, and acrobatic sword and gun fights. Rubber chickens, doubling as pigeons and ducks, and a rubber tarantula tarantula (tərăn`chələ), name applied chiefly to several species of the large, hairy spiders of the families Theraphosidae and Dipluridae of North and South America. The body of a tarantula may be as much as 3 in. (7. get hurled about along with the actors. Limber-limbed Dave Mason, in the role of Bullshot, pranced, flopped, and tumbled his way around the stage, followed closely by Sean Collier, who amiably portrayed a host of characters - Professor Fenton, Algy, a policeman, a waiter, Inspector Scabbard and Marovitch. The hilarious and very physical interaction between these two actors was infectious and stole the show. ``Bullshot'' is a grand, exaggerated sendup of British, Sherlock Holmesian spy thrillers, and stereotypes like absent-minded professors, diabolical Germans, dumb blondes Dumb Blondes were a band including current Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen. The band consisted of singer Jeff Hepting, guitarist Phil Collen, bassist Pete Webb, and drummer Fred Ball (later the vocalist for XFX). , and bumbling British police. The actors have great fun with various accents: German and various grades of the Queen's English. By far the most priceless accent was Collier's rendition of the Scottish Inspector Scabbard. Count Otto von Bruno (William Wilson) and his cohort Lenya (Rosemary DeYoe) have parachuted into England (as their plane crashes) to wreak havoc. Otto wants to destroy the world, but in the meantime Adv. 1. in the meantime - during the intervening time; "meanwhile I will not think about the problem"; "meantime he was attentive to his other interests"; "in the meantime the police were notified" meantime, meanwhile is happy to try to steal the formula for synthetic diamonds from the doddering dod·der·ing adj. Infirm, feeble, and often senile. Adj. 1. doddering - mentally or physically infirm with age; "his mother was doddering and frail" doddery, gaga, senile Professor Fenton. The professor's lovely but dim daughter, Rosemary, who is played with great wit by Anna Platt, seeks help from Bullshot to rescue her father, who has been captured by Otto and Lenya. The inept, but good-humored Bullshot - reminiscent of ``Get Smart's'' Max or Inspector Clouseau - stumbles his way through various escapades before he wins out, by default, of course. Bullshot is forever misjudging - mistaking innocents for villains and vice versa VICE VERSA. On the contrary; on opposite sides. . He tries disguises - an Arabian sheik and an athlete. The bit as an amazingly healthy and ``well-equipped'' athlete was wickedly comic. Another very funny highlight was Otto's electrocution electrocution Method of execution in which the condemned person is subjected to a heavy charge of electric current. The prisoner is shackled into a wired chair, and electrodes are fastened to the head and one leg so that the current will flow through the body. torture of the professor to force him to give up his secret formula. The hapless man, colander upended upon his head, utters the most hilarious screeches. If you're in need of some very hearty belly laughs, check out this very good-natured comedy. Director Les Weider notes that the play was created in the 1970s by a group of improvising actors that were part of San Francisco's Low Moan Productions. THE FACTS WHAT: ``Bullshot Crummond'' by Ron House, Diz White, John Neville-Andrews, Alan Shearman and Derek Cunningham WHEN: 1:30 p.m. today and 7:30 p.m. Friday. WHERE: Moorpark College Performing Arts Center A performing arts center, often abbreviated PAC, is a multi-use performance space that can be adapted for use by various types of the performing arts, including dance, music and theatre. , Studio Theater COST: $7 general admission, $6 students, $4 Moorpark College students and seniors INFORMATION: (805) 378-1485 CAPTION(S): Photo PHOTO The cast of ``Bullshot Crummond'' sends up British spy thrillers with its well-delivered production at Moorpark College this week. |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion