Brent Gibbs is about to open a play with a cast of thousands.
And do it with 14 actors.
Gibbs is directing Arizona Repertory Theatre’s production of “Epic Proportions.”
Here’s a primer on the comedy:
The tale: The 1986 play by Larry Coen and David Crane is, well, completely outlandish — which makes it kind of our cup of tea. It’s the 1930s, and two brothers, Benny and Phil, have made their way to the Arizona desert to appear in a Biblical epic. They are among 3,400 extras in the film directed by the elusive D.W. DeWitt. Supervising those extras is Louise. The most reasonable way for her to manage who does what is have the extras count off in fours. Phil is a three and gets all the breezy scenes. As a four, Benny finds himself in scenes that include all of the 10 plagues. Of course, everything begins to fall apart. Complicating it all: The two brothers find themselves competing for Louise’s affection.
The soundtrack: “We’re using film scores from some of the epic movies,” says Gibbs. Music from such films as “Quo Vadis” and “Ben Hur” — the 1959 version — should help put the audience in an epic mood.
The set: There are two locations and two time periods in the play — one is a 1930s movie set, the other is right out of Biblical times. “Bruce Brockman is designing the set,” says Gibbs. “It’s beautiful.” And, he adds, “Epic.”
Go ahead, laugh: “It’s a total hoot,” says Gibbs about the play. “Some of the jokes are as corny as they can be.”
The lessons: The play is also a good teaching tool for the University of Arizona student actors. “Comedy is very hard,” Gibbs says. “It takes a lot of discipline, clarity, control. There’s a technique to delivering comedy, and they are learning that. And this is a broad comedy, which is even more difficult.”
