Best of all possible 'Candide's? Best of all possible 'Candide's? (March 05, 2004)

The Foothill Music Theatre's production is frenetic and funny

By Ben Marks

When "Candide" premiered on Broadway in 1956 it was an immediate flop. On paper, it had everything going for it. Based on Voltaire's 18th-century satirical novel of the same name, "Candide" was scored by Leonard Bernstein, its story was penned by Lillian Hellman and its lyrics were the work of no less a wordsmith than Dorothy Parker, among others.

By the time director Harold Prince revived it in 1974, he had cut the play's three-hour length in half, tossed Hellman's contribution entirely and brought in Stephen Sondheim to add his Midas touch. That "Candide" won a Tony.

It is a 1975 revision of Prince's award-winning version, complete with its non-traditional staging -- there are two satellite stages and some theatergoers sit in chairs on the stage floor -- that Foothill Music Theatre founder and director Jay Manley presents at the Foothill College Playhouse through March 14.

Even though "Candide" is no longer the operetta that Bernstein originally envisioned, it is still very much a comedic musical, which is probably why the tinny-sounding recording of Bernstein's frenetic overture seemed so jarring to my ears. Is this, I wondered, what we are in for during the next hour and 45 minutes?

Fortunately, the answer to that question was 'No.' Within seconds of the overture's cacophonous conclusion, musicians Brandon Adams, Sylvia Chen and Scott Welsh took the musical reins, capably performing Bernstein's complicated and demanding score with precision and flair from within a compact orchestra pit that had been cleverly carved into the set. Their spare and polished arrangements were harmoniously complemented by the voices of the musical's leads, as well as the full-throated and energetic ensemble.

The play's narrator (narration was one of the devices employed by Prince to trim the play's running time) is a stocking-cap-clad Dr. Voltaire (Stewart Lyle), who introduces us to Candide (Michael Amaral), the bastard cousin of Cunegonde (Keite Davis), who is the virgin daughter of blustery Baron Thunder-Ten-Tronck (W. Scott Whistler).

Amaral, who bears an uncanny resemblance to Ben Stiller, has a smooth and expressive voice, but the sound-stealing acoustics of the Playhouse seemed to snatch his very notes from the air. As a result, it was not until Amaral moved from one of the production's two satellite stages to face the audience front and center that I was fully able to appreciate the subtleties and nuances of his vocal chords. Davis' crystalline soprano, on the other hand, flew in the higher registers, which may be why her voice carried so much better in the acoustically treacherous room.

Rounding out the Thunder-Ten-Tronck household is a sexually accommodating maid named Paquette (Nicole Tung) and Cunegonde's hopelessly narcissistic brother, Maximillian (Nicholas Nakashima), who never met a mirror he didn't like. Both are great comedians.

Together, these four friends (brother, sister, bastard, maid) live in what is repeatedly referred to as "the best of all possible worlds." Their world, of course, is actually a place of endless indignities, and watching them endure their increasingly improbable hardships with idiotic cheer is a hoot.

In short order, Lyle changes costume to become Dr. Pangloss. Other actors also play multiple characters, and trying to keep track of who's who becomes something of an in-theater parlor game for the audience. The good doctor, having instructed his young charges in the lessons of life ("Everything is for the best in the best of all possible worlds"), immediately begins to molest the ever-helpful Paquette, who only moments before had been seen going offstage to "polish" her master's "boots."

Caught in the act by the innocent but lustful Cunegonde, Pangloss explains enough about sex to the young girl that she's able to seduce the clueless Candide, who's as infatuated with her as she is with him. The two lovebirds lock eyes, lips and limbs, and by the time the Baron finds them in flagrante delicto, Candide has been banished.

No matter; ruin quickly befalls everyone else, too. Cunegonde, for example, is transformed into an apparently insatiable whore. A few scenes after being kidnapped by Bulgarian soldiers, Davis delivers a show-stopping "Glitter and Be Gay," in which jewel-bedecked Cunegonde realizes that life as a prostitute actually suits her just fine, thank you very much.

Such is the pace of "Candide." The play is a blur of onstage costume changes, expertly choreographed scene changes facilitated by the actors themselves and a memorable walk-on (or should I say crawl-on) by a hilarious trio of sheep, who chew so much scenery they practically steal the show.

Of course everything ends happily ever after (well, sort of), which is the entire, limited philosophical point of Voltaire, Bernstein and Prince's imperfect farce. Indeed, the musical's smile-darn-ya-smile ethos is the key to enjoying "Candide." Think too hard about the plot and the whole thing implodes. Keep it light, though, and lessons can be dispensed without suffering the rigors of undue scrutiny.

In this context, Bernstein's score is probably more serious and earnest than it should be. I wish that it had been at least memorable (I didn't leave the theater humming even one of his tunes). But I'm not too worried about any of that, because I now know that everything is for the best in the best of all possible worlds.

Information

What: "Candide," presented by Foothill Music Theatre. The play features a score by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Hugh Wheeler.

Where: Foothill College Playhouse, 12345 El Monte Road in Los Altos Hills. Parking ($2; bring singles) in lots 1, 5, or 7.

When: Through March 14. Show times are 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays and 2 p.m. on Sundays. There will also be an additional 2 p.m. show on Saturday, March 13.

Cost: Tickets are $22 general; $20 seniors; $16 students; $10 children under 12

Info: For tickets, call the box office at 949-7360 (open Wednesday through Sunday, noon-3 p.m.), 24-hour charge-by-phone hotline at 949-7414 or visit www.acteva.com/go/foothillboxoffice.

To read informal comments by the cast of "Candide" about their experience with the production, please visit http://foothillcandide.blogspot.com

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