There's no butler in Joe Orton's play. Nymphomaniacs, letches, na??ve secretaries, depraved porters, and a police-department reject from the Village People, yes. But nary a butler to be seen.
Orton was an outrageous playwright when he hit the scene in the '60s, and it's fair to say that while the material he covers has become more a part of the mainstream since his career's abrupt end, the way in which he expressed his themes still has the power to surprise.
"What The Butler Saw" opens as the lecherous Dr. Prentice (normally played by Vincent O'Neill, but understudied by the show's director, Paul Todaro, on opening night) "interviews" the inexperienced Geraldine Barclay (Kathryn Downey) for a post as his secretary. As he instructs her to disrobe, he is interrupted by Dr. Rance (Derek Campbell), an equally lecherous colleague, who mistakes Miss Barclay for a patient and signs her committal papers a few minutes later. Upon his wife, Mrs. Prentice's (Josephine Hogan) return from the station hotel, Dr. Prentice learns she has been assaulted by an unsavory hotel porter - and hides Miss Barclay's identity by playing along with Rance's depraved explanations for the young woman's supposed psychosis.
Throw a confused Sergeant and a sexually depraved porter into the mix, and the comedy becomes farcically rife with identity and gender confusion, various states of undress, and heated spousal strife.
While Dr. and Mrs. Prentice put away a good half-bottle of liquor between them in the first act, they follow in the footsteps of the 1950 film version of "Harvey"'s Elwood P. Dowd (Jimmy Stewart) in barely showing it. Their disagreements offer some of the play's funniest lines, as is the case when Dr. Prentice learns of his wife's most recent indiscretion. Nose-to-nose, their anger palpable, Prentice asserts that his wife is such a slut, "They'll bury you in a y-shaped coffin!"
Between the Prentices and Rance, young Miss Barclay and Nicholas Beckett (John Warren) don't stand a chance. Downey's performance as Geraldine Barclay barely calls for her to do more than cross the stage a few times in a bra and panties, while Warren has to do a bit more comedic work, but ultimately, not much else.
Todaro's portrayal of Dr. Prentice is decent, but thanks to him, there is little discernable age difference between he and his wife. When Vincent O'Neill takes up the part once more, this may change - and audience members may have a better understanding of what causes the disparity in the Prentice marriage. This is key to understanding the d?(c)nouement of the play, since a younger Dr. Prentice is easier to see as charming, boyish, and misguided than an older one.
"A complete list of your indiscretions would make a bestseller!" exclaims Dr. Rance in the midst of the second act. Throughout the play, Campbell performs with outrageous inspiration, embodying the mindless enthusiasm of the psychotic mind, spinning the character's complicated explanations out in tirades so enthusiastically rambling they seem almost to expand of their own accord. He doesn't leave any of Rance's bizarre enthusiasm for the sexual proclivities of the people around him to doubt, allowing the character's perverse interest in the others free reign.
"What The Butler Saw" was originally intended to open Jan. 10, but was delayed due to a cast illness. Having opened successfully Jan. 15, it will run through Feb. 16, with ticket prices ranging from $12 with a student ID to upwards of $32 per seat.
