Theater Review : ‘Samos,’ ‘Casina’: Ancient Comedies With a Lot of Life

The J. Paul Getty Museum is hosting a rare and intoxicating event. Two ancient comedies, which are sometimes read but hardly ever played, are onstage in the Getty’s inner peristyle garden.

If all this sounds serene and stately, think again. The farcical misunderstandings, low-down ribaldry and plain-spoken English adaptations of these plays are in stark contrast to the architectural majesty of the Getty.

This juxtaposition is also reflected in Nathan Birnbaum’s entrancing music. Albert Vartanyan uses a variety of Armenian wind instruments to create a frenzy of orgiastic wailing (meant to suggest Aegean sounds), while solemn drummers maintain deadpan stares that are worthy of Buckingham Palace guards.

The first play, “The Woman From Samos,” is by Menander, a Greek from the 3rd Century BC. Menander’s reputation far surpasses theatergoers’ actual knowledge of his works, most of which aren’t intact. But this one, in a translation by J. Michael Walton that confidently fills in a few of the missing passages, is fast, funny and surprisingly tender.

Before wealthy Demeas (Jay Bell) and his neighbor Nikeratos (Larry Randolph) went away on business, Demeas ordered his mistress (Tressa Scarbrough), the title character, to get rid of her pregnancy. Meanwhile, Demeas’ adopted son Moschion (Jon Matthews) has impregnated Nikeratos’ daughter (who remains offstage).

Soon, complications stack up, thanks in part to the stock-character servants (Robert Machray and Kathy Kinney). But, amid the whirlwind, a few moments of genuine human feeling surface, not only in Menander’s lines but also in the actors’ faces--which would have been covered by masks in ancient Greece.

During breaks in the action, a chorus line entertains with simple little dances, provocative masks and outlandishly graphic outfits designed by Alex Jaeger. But these costumes are mild compared to the enlarged phalli that are carried onstage after intermission, during the bawdier, more cartoonish “Casina,” by the 2nd Century Roman playwright Plautus.

In “Casina,” translated by Richard Beacham, Randolph plays a classic dirty old man, Lysidamus, who lusts after the unseen title character, a ward of his wife (Hope Alexander-Willis). The spouses try to outfox each other by setting up their respective servants (Machray and Matthews) as Casina’s would-be groom, the better to control Lysidamus’ access to her. Not surprisingly, the frisky old man gets his comeuppance.

This one is a rowdy, raucous party, lacking the more rounded characters of “Samos.” Like many such parties, it goes on too long, but it’s a gas.

Michael Hackett briskly directed professional casts. UCLA, which co-produced with the Getty, provided students for the chorus.

Although this production was designed to accompany the current exhibition “A Passion for Antiquities” (open during intermission, if you can tear yourself away from the free baklava and wine), the Getty should consider keeping a permanent resident company devoted to performing classics. Judging from this production, actors can animate an era and add another dimension to the museum experience.

* “The Woman From Samos” and “Casina,” J. Paul Getty Museum, 17985 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu. Thursdays-Sundays, 7:30 p.m. Ends Oct. 30. $35. (213) 365-3500. Running time: 2 hours, 55 minutes.