'The School for Scandal' at the Taper

The School for Scandal
December 5, 2004
Mark Taper Forum, Los Angeles

The Taper has staged Richard Brinsley Sheridan's classic English play "The School for Scandal" (think composer Samuel Barber's overture to the play of the same name) as the second production of its 2004-2005 season. It is directed by Brian Bedford, a "big-time" English actor/director who loves staging classic plays, and did so quite successfully two years ago at the Taper, with "The Moliere Comedies."

This one, though, is a bit of a snoozer. Not the production is lacking in anyway. The actors are excellent; I particularly enjoyed Carolyn Seymour's Lady Sneerwell, Marianne Muellerleil's Mrs. Candour, Kate Fry's Lady Teazle and Scott Parkinson's Sir Benjamin Backbite. The show is also briskly directed by Bedford, who also plays Sir Peter Teazle in the production.

The problem, though, is that it just goes on for far longer than I care to watch; too much mannered snickering and polite English 'ha-ha-ing' for my taste. Plus, the play itself is somewhat disorderly and messy; characters change motivation at the drop of a hat, nor do we care very much about them as the evening progresses. I know some people enjoy watching classic plays like this, but I was really expecting more of the serious emotional punch of the two most recent Taper productions ("Intimate Apparel" and "Nothing But the Truth"). I'll chalk this one up to 'not in the mood for a classic play.'

"The School for Scandal" plays at the Mark Taper Forum in downtown LA through January 23, 2005. Go to www.taperahmanson.com for more information.