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The Mandrake/The Cathedral
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
THEATER REVIEW: “The Mandrake” and “The Cathedral.” Through Jan. 30
My, that Machiavelli was a randy fellow!
His 1518 one-act “The Mandrake” would fee right at home on 225 Fox TV.
Nobody can get enought sex, not even the friar.
And who knew that the philosopher who gave us the end-justifies-the-means also wrote a three-minute gag involving a giant beaker of urine?
Herewith, the plot: The young and handsome Callimaco desires the lovely and virtuous Lucrezia, who’s married to the old and foolish Nicia. So Callimaco hires the wily and wicked Ligurio to help him find a way into Lucrezia’s heart, or more accurately, her nether regions. Ligurio knows that Nicia badly wants a child. So he tells Nicia that he knows of a potion made from a mandrake root that is sure to get her pregnant. The only problem? It will kill the first man to sleep with her after she drinks it. So, he suggests, Nicia must capture a young man off the street and force him to have sex with his wife. And guess who that young man will be?
Pulling all this off, of course, requires bribery and disguises and involves an oversexed mother-in-law and an on-the-take friar.
This is broad, broad stuff. The Shakespeare Tavern cast never passes up a chance to hammer home a double-entendre — why settle for a wink when a pelvic thrust is at your disposal? And did we mention that beaker of urine?
“The Mandrake” is a show for those folks who still miss Benny Hill.
Oddly, the Tavern has paired this ancient, bawdy work with a modern, reverential piece by local author Bo Ketchin.
“The Cathedral” tells the story of a boy who can see music. As he ages, this ability disappears. But when, as a young man, he passes a bookstore window and catches a glimpse of a cover featuring an ancient cathedral, he realizes that the musical visions he saw as a child were cathedrals. Soon he sets out on a pilgrimage to see the holy edifice in Salisbury, England.
Despite some lovely language and the best efforts of actor Marc McPherson — dressed like a professor and alternately shouting and whispering like a preacher — the play still feels like the short story it originally was. And its simplicity and reverence make it an odd setup for the wacky chaos that follows. Better to have split “Mandrake” in two or to have found some equally ribald work to start the show. THE 411: $19.50-$24.50. Through Jan. 30. Shakespeare Tavern, 499 Peachtree St., downtown. 404-874.5299, www.shakespearetavern.com.
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