THEATER REVIEW : High-Seas Drama With the Met’s ‘Fool’

Michael Dorn Moody’s “The Fool” at the Met Theatre is the theatrical equivalent of an N. C. Wyeth painting, a colorful adventure yarn full of brawn and derring-do. The play concerns the piratical exploits of Francis Drake who, facing arrest and ignominy in his native England, sails off to the New World to raid Spain’s coffers so that he can return home a hero, covered with gold and glory.

Moody’s rich, multilayered play, which vividly captures the language and history of the late 1500s, was understandably nominated for a Pulitzer in 1985. Manly exploits abound on this bounding main, but in addition to the purely physical feats of courage and endurance, there’s also an intellectually satisfying Hegelian dialectic, personified by Drake (Don Harvey) and his bosom friend and second-in-command Thomas Doughty (Wayne Pere).

The low-born Drake is a man of action, all bluff, bravado and bulldog tenacity, whose primary purpose on his perilous voyage is the amassment of a huge fortune, money he hopes will purchase him a pardon and win him favor with Queen Elizabeth (O-Lan Jones).

By contrast, Doughty, as courageous as his name implies, is a gentleman intellectual who needs no such material enticement to win advancement with the queen. In fact, he has already advanced himself well into her heart--and her bed. Imbued with visionary dreams of a new world order, Doughty persuades Elizabeth to secretly finance Drake’s voyage, hoping not only to further her in the New World but also to found a utopian “New England,” based on principles of equality and egalitarianism.

When in balance, Drake and Doughty are two halves of a formidable whole. However, when opposites collide, as they inevitably must on this fateful journey, Drake is forced to destroy his better half, the sole exalting impulse of his otherwise base nature.

Director James Gammon captains Moody’s three-act drama with great energy, though occasionally the play enters the doldrums. Gammon has assembled a capable cast but has not fully succeeded in imposing a consistent period style upon his actors, some of whom seem to be playing more for a camera rather than an audience, an unfortunate technique that leaves us cupping our ears even in this modestly sized house.

Drake was only 35 at the commencement of his voyage, long before his escapades had rendered him respectable, but even so, Harvey seems a tad too young and fair to jibe with one’s historical notions of the great sea captain. Preconceptions aside, however, Harvey’s air of gruff command and sheer physical vitality propel the play. Pere is particularly affecting as Doughty, a life-loving man whose ideals doom him to martyrdom.

The production’s technical elements are superb. Patrick McFadden’s handsome and versatile set, Denise Caplan’s period costumes, Leonora Schildkraut’s sound, and Chris Collins’ superbly rendered lighting design contribute great excitement and authenticity to this high drama on the high seas.

* “The Fool,” Met Theatre, 1089 N. Oxford, Los Angeles. Thursdays-Sundays, 8 p.m. Ends Nov. 23. $15. (213) 957-1152. Running time: 2 hours, 50 minutes.