You almost always know what youβre gonna get at the Gaslight Theatre.
Still, you are almost always surprised.
Maybe itβs the bastardization of rock βnβ roll songs. Maybe itβs the actorsβ gifts for going off script if it means making a fellow cast member β and us β laugh.
Or maybe itβs the corn-filled mind of Peter Van Slyke, who writes and directs most plays, including the current one, βThe Rise of the Sheik.β
Whatever the reason, the familiarity mixed with the surprise makes for an eye-rolling, boo-and-cheer-filled, laughter-packed time at the olβ theater.
Itβs just moments into the play when the cast sings βSheik Yerbouti,β a shameless ripoff of KC & The Sunshine Bandβs βShake Your Booty.β We like the Gaslight version better, though it makes as little sense. A bit later, the song βAfternoon Delightβ becomes βArabian Delight.β It seems Van Slyke can bend any song from anywhere to his will. And he does.
Other tunes pepper the play, about a young Kalif Ali Ben Hassan (honest, thatβs his name), who must fight some evil forces in order to claim the lands and power that should have been passed on to him after his father died. Kalif is played by an enthusiastic Jake Chapman, clean cut and innocent, but willing to fight for what is his. And fall in love. And put evil in its place.
He gets some help from a richly ridiculous Mike Yarema as his sidekick, Kamir. Heβs not really much help, but oh does he have fun.
And that head bad guy is just too delicious. David Orley, who has defined bad guys at The Gaslight for years, is the no-good grand Wazir. His sidekick is the sublimely understated Jacob Brown as The Soothsayer, though heβs pretty lousy at forecasting the future.
Thereβs a love interest β Erin Thompson as sweet, demure, almost-helpless Jasmine, a scheming beauty (Heather Stricker), and Todd Thompson as Sheik Yerbouti. We arenβt sure how he fits in, but we are glad he does.
Look, the story ainβt the thing here. Itβs the good singing, good fun, so-bad-they-are-good jokes (βHavenβt I seen your face somewhere before?β βNo, itβs always been right hereβ) and the good music, directed by Linda Ackermann.
And itβs the olio, the cabaret-ish show after the show. These days, itβs Gaslightβs tribute to βDirty Dancing.β Some great singing and even greater spoofing.
The success of the Gaslight shows owes much to its scene designer Tom Benson. In this production, he transports us to Arabia in the 17th century, where the good guys ride white horses, the bad guys black ones, and the simple minded a jackass; where carpets fly, and where pyramids rise on the small stage.
But all his fine work would be for naught if it werenβt for the supreme silliness of the playwright/director and actors. They are determined the audience has a grand time. And it does.