Marceau's Magic
SAUVAGE, LEO
On Stage MARCEAU'S MAGIC BY LEO SAUVAGE Q ne thing most Broadway shows have in common today is the over-amplified noise emanating from the general direction of the stage, if not necessarily from...
...Bip as a Lion Tamer," a Marceau classic, is as funny as ever...
...The accent here is on the exquisite staging, as Marceau utilizes two standing black screens and the four additional hands of Jean-Jerome Raclot and Jonathan Lambert, the two assistants who beautifully "announce" the titles of each of the master's acts...
...His attempt to remove it is stunning and harrowing, as the contrast grows between the unalterably joyful physiognomy and the increasingly desperate effort reflected in the movements of Marceau's body...
...The thundering laughter with which U.S...
...The thief s disconcerting vision is translated into a pantomime-ballet that easily achieves its aim of producing sheer pleasure...
...theatergoers now greet Marceau's irresistible portrayal of Bip's rocky ride perhaps reflects their becoming more familiar with Amtrak...
...Indeed, Marceau says more in five or 10 silent minutes than Harold Pinter does during one of his artificially enigmatic full-length plays...
...that indeed it is only a few years since loudspeakers took the place of the well-projected human voice and producers— adding insult to injury—began to formally credit the man or woman responsible for our aching eardrums: "Sound by...
...In this miniature morality play that may be seen as an analogy for the predicament of mortals, it appears that Marceau is inclined to stake out a sardonic middle ground between the magnetic power of darkness and man's natural fear of succumbing to it...
...In the course of his many adventures, Bip is usually battered yet never beaten...
...The maskmaker is trying on his various creations, ranging from a tragic face to a hilariously amused one...
...sometimes, in fact, he may need all his strength, energy and will power to overcome it...
...Terrified of dying in his trench, he is in fact wounded, but survives...
...Dramatic is the right word: The great French mime presents a dozen or so short plays, each one with a preamble, a story and a meaningful epilogue developed along consistent, pertinent, accurate lines...
...As always, following the intermission Marceau turns the stage over to Bip, his Chaplinesque alter ego with the red flower in his rumpled top hat...
...The angel remains open to the possibility of relapse, though, despite the broken wing he has acquired along the way...
...In altering his appearance from one to the other, Marceau exhibits the kind of virtuosity usually associated with great concert violinists or pianists...
...Those who have seen this sketch before owe it another viewing—and another after that...
...The closest he comes to true defeat is in "Bip as a Soldier...
...It is an absolutely perfect concentration of dramatic expression, the pure essence of stagecraft distilled from the art of both writer and performer...
...It sometimes seems easy to forget that theater existed for many centuries before the advent of electronics...
...Particularly memorable, too, is a brief, very funny piece called "The Pickpocket's Nightmare...
...Severalofthenewworksinthe show, invented in the eight years since Marceau's last visit, are no less "outspoken" than "The Maskmaker," if a bit more complex...
...I mention this peeve here because it underscores one of the reasons why Marcel Marceau's return to Broadway at the Belasco Theater affords us such an enchanting, dramatic evening...
...And the New York audience seemed to find "Bip Travels by Train" actually funnier than before...
...In earlier years, Americans had trouble appreciating the humor of this quintessentially European situation— a long-distance rail journey with heavy suitcases...
...The "style pantomimes" presented in the opening half of the evening include a masterpiece that Marceau has been bringing to Broadway since his first run at the Ethel Barrymore Theater in 1955, "The Maskmaker...
...Suddenly, the merry mask gets stuck to the craftsman's skin...
...On Stage MARCEAU'S MAGIC BY LEO SAUVAGE Q ne thing most Broadway shows have in common today is the over-amplified noise emanating from the general direction of the stage, if not necessarily from the mouths of the actors...
...This is magnificent theater, and it conveys a significant message: Man can not always remain master of what he creates...
...In "The Angel," the mime adds sound and light effects to his depiction of one of the Lord's attendants being summoned back to his duties after he has become curious about some of the pleasures lurking on the wrong side of the celestial firmament...
Vol. 66 • March 1983 • No. 6
