Week of Theater: You, Nero

My second trip to the theater this week brought me to Ancient Rome, under the reign of Nero. You, Nero tells the story of Scribonius (a real name from Roman times, apparently, and played by Jeff McCarthy, whose bio tells us that he is the voice of Michigan J. Frog), a playwright who is commissioned by Nero (Danny Scheie) to write a play about his life. Scribonious decides to use the opportunity to try to turn Nero's life around--stop the random killings, etc.

It's a new comedy from Amy Freed, who was a finalist for the 1998 Pulitzer Prize for Drama (for Freedomland) and is now Arena Stage's playwright in residence. And we're talking broad comedy (e.g., "...eschew." "Gesundheit!"). It was very funny, but it also seemed that at times it didn't quite know what it was going for. The actors frequently addressed the audience directly and a couple of times it seemed like they were encouraging audience participation, but it never quite felt right.

And the end. Oh, the end. Freed admits that she used the play to compare the fall of Rome to our own times and that it's a commentary on how people don't appreciate theater and there isn't any serious entertainment anymore, etc., etc. Which...OK, I get that there are some stupid reality shows out there (do we really need to bring back Fear Factor?), and there certainly a lot of issues going on around the world, but a direct comparison seems a bit heavy-handed. We're not quite at the point of killing each other for sport, no matter what dystopian literature would have us believe. And there's a fair amount of good drama out there--if not on the stage (and I can't comment on that; I pay more attention to musical theater than straight plays), then at least on cable television.

In the lead roles, McCarthy and Scheie were quite good. McCarthy apparently only just stepped into the role last week; he was still on-book for chunks of the play, but for the most part, it wasn't an issue. (There were a few moments in the second act where he had to check his lines and it hurt the flow a touch, but honestly, he did a fab job.) Scheie was excellent as Nero; he portrayed the emperor as both very threatening, but managed to show other facets to his personality. He's also the most comic of the parts. My only quibble is that Nero died at the age of 30; Scheie does not look 30. Or in his 30s. Freed credits Scheie as being her muse, but it would be interesting to see the role played by an age-appropriate actor. There was a sizable ensemble who, for the most part, seemed somewhat superfluous, particularly seeing how a couple actors had multiple roles. The cast didn't need to be as large as it was, though far be it for me to say that fewer actors should be working.

In the end, the show was an enjoyable couple of hours. The show could use some work, but I don't regret spending the money to see it.