O.C. STAGE REVIEW : Shaw, Devil Get Their Due in ‘Don Juan’ at the Barclay

In his preface to the published version of the First Drama Quartet’s script for “Don Juan in Hell,” critic John Mason Brown reminded his readers “how unnecessary scenery is when great language sets the stage.”

Indeed, the latest production of this staged reading for four voices goes a fair distance to prove it. The presenting group, which gave its inaugural performance Saturday at the Irvine Barclay Theatre (not counting a benefit in Malibu last fall which sparked this continuation), pointedly calls itself the Second Drama Quartet. This is a less-than-oblique reference to the first one, which originated this fragment of Act III from George Bernard Shaw’s “Man and Superman” as a separate reading in 1951 and featured, alphabetically, Charles Boyer, Cedric Hardwicke, Charles Laughton and Agnes Moorehead under Laughton’s direction.

The Second Quartet consists, again alphabetically, of Ed Asner, Rene Auberjonois, Judith Ivey and Harris Yulin, with Yulin directing. And the results, as witnessed Saturday, though more worthy than inspired, are nevertheless inspiring thanks to the fifth, most ubiquitous and unavoidable member of this group. No, it is not the uncredited cellist who throws in well-timed snippets of music in thankless support of the text, but the writer of the golden words: GBS himself.

It is a misnomer to call any assemblage of talent offering this literate, witty and whimsical cogitation on human nature a quartet, since Shaw’s presence and philosophies are such an outspoken part of every character. The perambulating discussion on the relative merits of heaven and hell, women and men, virtue and sin, life and death, is endlessly pertinent and, with the smart elimination of now-archaic interjections (the “boshes” and “poohs” that dot Shavian speech), endlessly topical.

The Second Quartet is up to the task of giving us a clear reading of the meaning of the intoxicating talk, if somewhat clinically and not always with the conviction required. It is more a matter of energy than talent. All of the participants have had distinguished acting careers, but it is Auberjonois as the Devil (wouldn’t you know it) who delivers the most persuasive arguments most persuasively, with Yulin as that reprobate-in-limbo, Don Juan, coming in a close second. They are thankfully charged with the longest and trickiest speeches, at a great advantage for the audience since one rarely tires of listening to either.

On the other hand, Ivey, who has earned richly deserved awards for unfazed and brave portrayals of unconstrained contemporary women--assorted bimbos (“Steaming”), enigmatic mothers (“Two Small Bodies”) and unblinking comic roles (“Bedroom Farce”)--does not always display the moral force for that bastion of virtuous indignation, Dona Ana. Her vocal energy droops from time to time, undermining Ana’s centrifugal power in this equation as Woman and Procreator, perpetrator of the indomitable Life Force, whose final, triumphant utterance is a revivified call for “A father! A father for the Superman!”

Asner as the Statue of the Commander is not required to be much more than the aristocrat’s naturally pompous self, a persona he grows into as the evening progresses. But aristocracy is not his forte. He never entirely captures the hubris of the unaware egomaniac to the castle born. As flippant as this may sound (and it is not intended to be), there is not enough unwitting arrogance in the performance to escape the sense that we are watching Lou Grant playing the role.

It could be a question of casting, but one is left with the impression that it may also be a matter of fine tuning. And there is time for that, since the production is embarked on a mini-tour of the Southland. But until then the group indeed remains the Second Drama Quartet, albeit a close second.

“Don Juan in Hell” gets another staged reading on Friday at 8 p.m. at Lancaster Performing Arts Center, 750 W. Lancaster Blvd., Lancaster. Tickets: $17 to $22. Information: (805) 723-5950. It will also be read May 28 and 29 at 8 p.m. at Norris Theatre, Crossfield Drive at Indian Peak Road, Palos Verdes. Tickets: $22. Information: (310) 544-0403. Harris Yulin: Don Juan Judith Ivey: Dona Ana Ed Asner: The Statue Rene Auberjonois:The Devil

A presentation of the Second Drama Quartet. Director Harris Yulin. Playwright George Bernard Shaw.