Reduced Shakespeare Puts Burlesque Touch on ‘Bible’

The Reduced Shakespeare Company’s latest show--”The Bible: The Complete Word of God (abridged)”--makes you long for the days of Monty Python’s Flying Circus. But since these are the ‘90s and the bridge to the 21st century is just around the corner, we’ll have to settle for Jesus resurrected as the Easter Bunny.

Some of the funniest mileage in this unholy condensation comes midway through the first act when Abraham Lincoln in a stovepipe hat must prove his Jewish faith in God by sacrificing his foreskin. The punch lines--several of them--had Friday’s crowd at Plummer Auditorium in Fullerton in gales of laughter.

Other cockeyed sketches--about the Tower of Babel, Noah’s Ark, David and Goliath, the birth of Christ, the Last Supper--also went over big, highlighting the sophomoric wit and bad taste presaged by the troupe’s previous satirical abridgments: “The Complete History of America” and “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare.”

Typically, however, “The Bible” turns out to be so tame that Bob Hope and Bill Cosby could be its patron saints. For example, Moses comes out onstage holding the stone tablets engraved with God’s commandments. “The good news is I got them down to 10,” Moses tell us. “The bad news is that adultery is still one of them.” Bada-bum.

While the show’s low-tech vaudeville style may be ecologically sound--squirt guns are blazing, as usual, along with the recycled jokes--much of the wordplay throughout could use an environmental goosing. Even the best sallies (when “the inexplicable” is made “plicable”) have become formulaic; the material seems tired.

Not so the performers.

Reed Martin, Matthew Croke and Austin Tichenor are game and spontaneous, sometimes rough around the edges. They have a laid-back attitude toward the proceedings, knowing from many outings perhaps that the show is basically monkey-proof.

Martin (the bald one with the voice made of brass) cranks the engine; Croke (the short one who gets to play the girls) shifts the gears; and Tichenor (the musical one who plays the instruments) steers. The collision is head-on, if bloodless.

Better shaggy than slick, the show is dressed in the homemade look of a mom-and-pop franchise. The trio performs with clever props on a spare stage in front of that crown jewel among scenic designs: the frescoed ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, wonderfully depicted on a huge dropcloth and, of course, slightly retouched.

* “The Bible: The Complete Word of God (abridged),” Plummer Auditorium, 201 E. Chapman Ave., Fullerton. Friday performance. (Also staged Saturday at Caltech in Pasadena.) Running time: 1 hour, 50 minutes.

With Reed Martin, Matthew Croke and Austin Tichenor.

A Reduced Shakespeare Co. production. Presented by the Professional Artists in Residence Celebrity Series at Cal State Fullerton. Written by Adam Long, Reed Martin and Austin Tichenor; additional material by Matthew Croke. Props: Kent Olafson, Daniel Singer and Alys Vincent. Costumes: Jane Hanson and Cindy Sue Hoofnagle. Backdrop: S.L. Wellen. Production manager: Rick Reiser.