REVIEW: Rude Guerrilla shows off horrormeister Clive Barker's lengthy but engrossing tale to its best advantage.

October 22, 2000

By ERIC MARCHESE

The Orange County Register

Just in time for the paganism that comes with every fall season, and with flair and panache, Rude Guerrilla Theater Company delivers "The History of the Devil." Before British writer-director Clive Barker became known to movie audiences as a horrormeister supreme ("Hellraiser"), he was a playwright, short-story writer and novelist. Written in the early '80s, "History" is every bit as gritty, borderline lewd and darkly funny as his film work, and a whole lot more subtle. Dave Barton directs the proceedings here with confidence and even, one could say, bravado. Barker's darkly comic narrative is long - some would say overlong. But it's a rewarding journey, and Barton punctuates it with spicy comical business delivered by a first-rate cast. The premise is intriguing: After several thousand years on the outs with the kingdom of heaven, Satan feels he has done his time. He wants to get back into the City of God. To do so, he agrees to go on trial in an earthly courtroom. By mutual consent, the verdict will be binding. The defendant (Jay Michael Fraley) makes a theatrical entrance, causing near-total darkness at noon. Satan, who prefers to be called "Lucifer," introduces testimony of long-dead witnesses. His defense: Man is inherently base and selfish and he, the devil, has been merely educating himself in mankind's ways. As we witness scene after sordid scene, the devil always seems to havehad an influence. But as prosecutor Lamb (Susan E. Taylor) admits to her associate (Paulette Kendall), there's no smoking gun. The idea that Satan has been an innocent bystander throughout the recorded annals of mankind's wars, senseless slaughters, betrayals,murders, torture and more, is ripe for satire. There are times that "The History of the Devil" has the literary depth and consistency -- and the absorbing, multicharacter feel -- of a sprawling, satirical novel. Barton and David Gallo's sound design creates a rich, varied aural texture capable of generating the ominous mood Barker's scenes require.

Barker's sympathies are clearly with his anti-hero, who has endured centuries of being an outcast, his followers persecuted. Barton's and Fraley's take on the material reflects this. A veteran of many Rude Guerrilla shows, Fraley excels at playing the devil's coy innocence while adding ambiguous shadings of more malicious intent. There's even pathos in his portrayal, as Satan chokes down a pie laced with holy water and into which a crucifix has been baked. Cynthia Ryanen's performance as fellow fallen angel Verrier is a tour de force encompassing the demon's depravity, lusty appetites, wrath and unquestioning loyalty to Satan. David Cramer is drily funny as the flip, persnickety judge. As the attornies, Taylor and Kendall gain our sympathies through a mix of believable comic and dramatic acting; Bryan Jennings makes credible the whimpering spinelessness of the devil's advocate. The rest of Barton's cast members show their acting chops in multiple roles. Sean Cox is featured as Christ - jarringly depicted as a shallow, publicity-hungry fool - and as a robot-like creation Satan builds as a companion to ease the agony of immortality. Alexander Rodriguez shines as a courageous bare-knuckle boxer in London's East End. Grace Nassar is equally good as the boxer's wife and as the young simpleton upon whom Lucifer practices violent copulation when he first falls to Earth. Larissa Tidwell, Sharyn Case and Jill Cary Martin bring depth and range to a variety of roles - Case poignant as an accused witch, Tidwell beguiling as a blasé wife in ancient Greece, Martin placid and sad asthe devil's mortal wife. Matt Cook, Aurelio Locsin and Jeff Marx are solid in Barton's sturdy andoften brilliant cast.

Monday, October 16, 2000

'History of the Devil': Puts Spin on Satan's Tale Rude Guerrilla production explores playwright Clive Barker's view of the fallen angel.

By T.H. MCCULLOH, Special to The Times

It's an old story. The angel Lucifer is a bad boy, and gets kicked out of heaven by the boss. He settles on Earth and establishes his version of paradise, but it's pretty raunchy and evil. He's devious and lecherousand, well, devilish. But then he decides he's bored with it all, and files a lawsuit for forgiveness and a chance to return to heaven. That's the gospel according to playwright-novelist Clive Barker in his early surreal black comedy "The History of the Devil," on stage at Rude Guerrilla's Empire Theater in Santa Ana. The play was originally produced in the early 1980s with Barker's avant-garde London theater group the Dog Company. Subtitled "Scenes From a Pretended Life," the play, even at three short hours, is an interesting and often amusing look at one writer's image of Satan, one of the pseudonyms Lucifer adopted after his banishment. Set as a rather ordinary trial--judge, prosecutors, defense attorney, witnesses and all--it's enlivened by interesting vignettes, described by witnesses, as to Lucifer's goodness, gentleness and desire for peace and happiness. Of course, the vignettes actually tell another story, but Lucifer really tries hard and almost logically to twist the facts. The style of the play recalls an era of playwriting even earlier than the '80s. It looks more like the '60s most of the time, but this production breathes life into it with fine, taut direction by Dave Barton, and a large, capable company sparked by some excellent performances that indicate not only an understanding of Barker's work, but a real affectionfor it. The most necessary, and effortless, spark is provided by Jay Fraley, whose sense of humor and detail gives Lucifer a definite charm, and of course the Devil is charming, as we all know. Fraley's light touch is exactly what the play needs, and his few darker moments are true to Barker's writing. His male sidekick Verrier, in true Barker style, is played by Cynthia Ryanen with such a slimy, evil, delicious subtext that even his desperate affection for Lucifer is more fun than frightening, and Sean Cox's Jesus Christ (among other roles) is notable for his sincerity amid the role's goofiness and camp. Susan E. Taylor is marvelous as a sure, hard-edged lesbian prosecuting attorney, and Paulette Kendall is solid as her very unsure associate prosecutor, who succumbs more than she really should to Lucifer's slithering appeal. As Sam Kyle, Lucifer's personally chosen defense counsel, Bryan Jennings has a strong sense of his character's confusion and growing fear that works very nicely, and David Cramer's stuffy Judge Popper has some very funny moments. In support, in a cast that frequently doubles in various roles, Grace Nassar stands out as a retarded Russian peasant girl raped and killed by Lucifer on his arrival down here, and as the Jewish wife of a prize-ring champion who just barely triumphs over Lucifer's contender. The play's only flaw is its insistence that Lucifer's most dastardly deed was the last 100 years. The Devil can't be forgiven for earlier mistakes either, but Barker makes sure his 1980s audience would be roped in by his philosophy, when Lucifer's wife testifies that he told her that he was going to start a war that would destroy humanity, and it would be called the 20th century.

"The History of the Devil," Empire Theatre, 200 N. Broadway, Santa Ana. Fridays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 2:30 p.m. Ends Nov. 12. $15. (714) 547-4688. Running time: 3 hours.

OC WEEKLY 10/20-10/26/00

The premise of Clive Barker's "The History of the Devil" is straightforward: Satan is on trial to determine whether he may return to Paradise. Mankind is on trial as well, for atrocities committed in the service of Satan (a very likable Jay Michael Fraley).

The real atrocity is Barker's structure. A court trial should be the perfect narrative device, but Barker mishandles it. There are countless screw-ups, the worst of which is that Barker spoils his own climax by having his prosecutor reveal in one scene exactly what she'll say in her closing argument.Barker seems equally confused about tone. "History" is at times too preachy to be what's billed as 'surreal black comedy' and at times too silly to be a macabre thriller. Director Dave Barton extracts some convincing physical per- formances from his cast. There's a very good atmospheric mise en scene created by offstage voices and a chorus of hooded black figures, and Fraley and Grace Nassar (as the mentally retarded girl who actually seduces Satan) turn in praiseworthy and gutsy scenes. Moments of pure goofiness (like Sean Cox as a ridiculous Jesus in the desert) are so few as to make them seem part of another play. Barker wraps up the whole thing with the hackneyed observation that the 20th century was the height of evil in our universe. It's sanctimonious, and it fails to do what Barker apparently hoped this play would: give the Devil his due. (Russell Dunn) Rude Guerrilla at the Empire Theater 200 N Broadway Santa Ana, (714) 547-4688. Fri.-Sat. 8 p.m.; Sun. 2:30 p.m. Through Nov 12 $12-$15

The Devil feels he's done his time on Earth and is ready for a trip back to heaven. So a trial is held, and Satan maintains that he was not responsible for the world's evil---he was a mere spectator as a corrupt humanity dug its own grave. That's the premise of Clive Barkerís The History of the Devil, or Scenes From a Pretended Life, an exciting and thought-provoking play currently being presented by the Rude Guerrilla Theater Company in Santa Ana.
In a clever casting twist, the Devil in History is played by Jay Fraley, who also played the lead in last year's Rude Guerrilla production of Corpus Christi, Terrence McNally's controversial story of a gay Christ figure. Fraley comes off as charming, conniving, and self-serving, sure, but brings new insight into the classic role by portraying Lucifer more as a person looking out for his own hide, desperate to re-enter heaven, rather than as a malicious master of evil.
Over the course of the trial, several scenes from the past of the Devilís supposed influence on humanity are conjured up, providing for the actors to assume a number of different roles. This effect works completely; scenes which would require a big budget and special effects to portray on film are realized through makeup, lighting, and good acting. Everyone in the cast is excellent, but of particular note are Cynthia Ryanen as a creepy low-level demon, Susan E. Taylor as the head prosecutor, and Sharyn Case as a prehistoric Russian with a retarded daughter and as an Inquisition-era woman accused of witchcraft. Sean Cox tackles two of the most interesting supporting roles, first as Luciferís loopy recollection of Jesus, and then as Satanís only begotten son---a doomed robotic boxer.
Director Dave Barton, a co-worker of mine, is terrific with the large cast of actors and has a keen sense of pacing, which is essential for this long, complex play. The History of the Devil works both as a supernatural thriller and a philosophical study. While a foundation for the final plot twist is hinted upon from the beginning, I canít help but think that philosophically, that partís not really fleshed out. Thematically, the bulk of the play is spent trying to prove the devilís case, while the twist only lurks in the background as a plot point. It would take multiple viewings to really be certain that Iím not just missing the boat here, though, and itís good for a play to demand that much thought!
The History of the Devil plays Fridays and Saturday evenings at 8:00, and Sunday afternoons at 2:30 through November 12 at the Empire Theater, 200 N. Broadway, Santa Ana. Tickets are $15 general and $12 for students and senior citizens. Call (714) 547-4688 for reservations. Please note that the play contains violence, adult themes, and a long scene of male nudity.