Philadelphia Weekly

The Lantern Theater Company celebrates the holidays with a whimsical new staging of Bill Irwin and Mark O’Donnell’s Scapin. Irwin and O’Donnell’s play is an adaptation of Moliere’s 17th-century comedy Deceits of Scapin. Unlike Moliere’s more famous comedies Tartuffe and The Misanthrope, Scapin contains no biting social commentary or insights into the human condition. A vintage farce, its only purpose is to delight. Under the direction of Aaron Cromie, the Lantern’s version takes the play’s silliness to new heights in a production that combines actors and puppets.

The story involves a pair of young men, Octavo (Bradley K. Wrenn) and Leandro (Dave Johnson), and their miserly fathers. Octavo is in love with Hyacinth (Leah Walton) while Leandro has fallen for the gypsy Zerbinetta (also voiced by Walton). The problem is that neither of the young men’s fathers approves of the coupling and the guys are short on cash. Facing their fathers’ wrath, they enlist the aid of the servant Scapin (Benjamin Lloyd). The busy plot also includes a shipwreck, two long-lost daughters, a servant named Sylvestre and imaginary terrorists.

Cromie moves the play’s action to Venice, which is represented nicely in Nick Embree’s multi-tiered set of miniature cutout houses, bridges and canals.

However, it is the puppets that give this production its originality. Cromie has a reputation as one of the city’s most creative puppet designers and in Scapin, his three varieties are effective, and the puppet characters are as fully realized as the human Scapin.

The decision to use puppets could’ve been a disaster. As a farce, Scapin relies on physical comedy for much of its humor. Puppets aren’t known for their flexibility or athleticism. Additionally, Embree’s tiered set severely restrains movement. Yet even with these limitations, the production boasts a surprising amount of movement and physical humor. Gondolas piloted by puppets race through the canals, a puppet dangles precariously from a balcony, and the show concludes with a frantic chase scene that winds chaotically through the city’s canals and streets.

As delightful as the puppet characters are, it’s Lloyd who carries the production. His Scapin is part conniver, part performance artist. A servant only in rank, he is a master at the art of persuasion, manipulating people and events with ease. He’s also charming. Lloyd interacts naturally with the puppet characters and his performance gives the production seemingly boundless energy.

The script allows for a great deal of directorial freedom and Cromie exercises it amusingly. The production breaks the fourth wall with references to the Lantern’s subscribers and the meager pay the actors receive for their efforts. With silly dialogue, there is little likelihood anyone is going confuse Scapin with high art. The characters are drawn from 16th-century Commedia dell’arte and the plot has more coincidences than a Shakespearean comedy, yet in Cromie’s hands, this adaptation feels fresh. Scapin isn’t going to revolutionize theater, but if you’re looking for escapist fare, the Lantern’s production provides a welcome diversion from reality.