A Study in Contrast: ‘The Devil’s Disciple’

Give the devil his due--and then some. Two productions of George Bernard Shaw’s “The Devil’s Disciple,” a thoughtfully sly melodrama set during the American Revolution, are on local stages.

The bigger, starrier and more stylized version is from Rubicon Theatre Company at the Laurel Theatre in Ventura. Rubicon is a secular company, but it operates out of a former church, complete with pews for the audience.

The Actors Co-op production in Hollywood uses a more realistic approach and better production values, marred by excessive flag-waving. Actors Co-op is affiliated with a Presbyterian Church, but the venue, while located on a church campus, is a small theater, not a sanctuary.

The religious or quasi-religious environs aren’t inappropriate. A leading character, Anthony Anderson, is a Presbyterian minister.

The title character, however, is the play’s hero. Appalled by the stifling religiosity of those around him, Dick Dudgeon pledges that he will remain steadfast to the devil. Yet when the British invade his small New Hampshire town, Dick willingly sacrifices his freedom on behalf of the minister’s.

Caught between the two men is Anderson’s wife, whose initial hatred for Dick turns into something far different. Another main character in the first half is Dick’s estranged mother, a harridan. The other prominent leading character in the second half is the suave British Gen. Burgoyne.

In Ventura, director William Keeler tries to preserve the archness and artifice of melodrama. Bursts of red light accompany the devil’s disciple and his big speech about his faith. The swooning Mrs. Anderson is gracefully assisted from her fallen position at the end of the first act and then returned to it at the beginning of the second by a period-dressed stagehand.

Thomas S. Giamario’s set is artificial in a bad way--it’s fairly abstract, but with rounded arches and beige walls, it looks oddly Mediterranean. The minister’s house is adorned with a backdrop image of stained glass fragments that also looks out of place.

James O’Neil, the company’s artistic director, is a bland Dick, whose scrappiness seems to be a strain. Joe Spano does better by Burgoyne but rushes a few of his lines. Susan Clark, whose Mrs. Dudgeon anchors the first part of the play, makes a fairly commanding grouch. Tom Tammi isn’t especially distinctive as the minister. But Amy Ecklund adds a few tart laughs as his wife, and Dana Elcar’s classically Dickensian face shows up in a small role.

The Rubicon company was seen on opening night, while the Actors Co-op group had more time to become a cohesive unit before this critic arrived--and it showed.

At Actors Co-op, Scott Damian’s cocky swagger as Dick appears almost innate. Greg Martin and Nan McNamara as the minister and his wife suggest ample sexual tension in their encounters with Dick. Annie Gagen is an unrelentingly harsh Mrs. Dudgeon and Ted Rooney a smooth Burgoyne. Gary Clemmer adds comedy as Dick’s stringy-haired, distracted brother.

Gary Lee Reed’s set and J. Kent Inasy’s delicate lighting create the image of a classic still life and are far more suggestive of a rural outpost in New Hampshire than the look of the Ventura production.

The only flaw at Actors Co-op is a decision by director Jesse Corti to lay on the flag-waving at the beginning and especially the end, accompanied by Timothy Williams’ swelling score. Not only are the flags too predictable these days, but the display contradicts Shaw--the script discounts the importance of the warring causes.

*

“The Devil’s Disciple,” Laurel Theatre, 1006 E. Main St., Ventura. Wednesdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Saturdays-Sundays, 2 p.m. Ends Dec. 16. $23-$38. (805) 667-2900.

“The Devil’s Disciple,” Crossley Terrace Theatre, 1760 N. Gower, Hollywood. Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 2:30 p.m. Ends Dec. 16. $18. (323) 462-8460.

Running times: 2 hours, 20 minutes.