Theater Review : ‘Bullshot’ Off the Bull’s-Eye : But When This Sendup of Whodunits Plays It Straight, It’s on Target

Ron House and Diz White know the secret of being funny. Appearing in the original productions of their “El Grande de Coca Cola” and “Bullshot Crummond,” they were deadly serious, their satire dead funny.

But when directors and actors don’t trust these scripts and try to make them funnier, both pieces tend to fall a little flat. At Golden West College, only partially does director Craig Fleming’s staging of “Crummond” come a cropper this way.

The House-White script (written with Alan Shearman, Jon Neville-Andrews and Derek Cunningham) is an all-stops-out sendup of 1930s B-movie detective thrillers, in this case taking off on the stiff-upper-lip adventures of Bulldog Drummond.

This production is zany, off-the-wall and silly, but keep those faces straight, guys.

The plot is negligible. German spies, an endangered scientist, fair damsels, Rube Goldberg inventions and, of course, Crummond’s stoic stupidity abound. Fleming throws in a ‘30s biplane zooming (sort of) across the audience and a clever art deco set (designed by Suzie DuVal) that changes personality as easily and as often as the actors do. If Velcro doesn’t always keep the scenery together, it just adds to the fun.

What doesn’t add to the fun are those moments when the performers try to add to the fun.

Martin Noyes, in the heroic task of playing seven roles, keeps within bounds in three or four of them, which in this case isn’t bad. In the rest he relies, on such outrageous shtick that any subtlety quickly evaporates.

*

It’s the subtlety, even in this outlandish framework, that provides the fun in Nathaniel Holden’s performance as the dastardly Otto Von Brunno. Holden dices dangerously at the edge of overdoing it but holds himself within bounds, particularly in the production’s funniest moments, as Von Brunno carries on a rapid-fire conversation with Chicago hit man Salvatore Scalicio, also played by Holden with rapid-fire costume changes.

Rachel Davenport is strong as Lenya Von Brunno, Otto’s macho wife, and Kristi Lyn Sewell is a giddy delight as the scientist’s daughter and Crummond’s love interest. There are many moments when Jaimes J. Palacio as Capt. Hugh (Bullshot) Crummond seems to relish the detective’s required sang-froid delivery and his stalwart dumbness, but he hasn’t quite fastened onto the style of the piece, and his comic timing is sometimes askew.

Fleming definitely knows the style here, but the few ragged edges in the staging take away from the utter delight built into the show.

* “Bullshot Crummond,” Patio Theatre, Golden West College, Gothard Street and Center Drive, Huntington Beach. Thursday through Sunday, 8:30. Ends Sunday. $10. (714) 895-8378. Running time: 1 hour, 35 minutes.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Rachel Davenport: Lenya Von Brunno

Nathaniel Holden: Otto Von Brunno, Salvatore Scalicio

Martin Noyes: Prof. Rupert Fenton, Algy Longwort, Country Policeman, Waiter, Inspector Scabbard, Wolfgang Schmidt, Marovitch

Jaimes J. Palacio: Bullshot Crummond

Kristi Lyn Sewell: Rosemary Fenton

A Stage West Studio Theatre production for Golden West College Fine and Performing Arts Division. Directed by Craig Fleming. Scenic design: Suzie DuVal. Lighting design: Leslie Barry. Sound design: Dan Knecht. Costume design: Susan Thomas Babb. Fight choreography: Martin Noyes. Stage manager: Joseph P. McGinley.