Theater in review

By Times staff writers, correspondents

© St. Petersburg Times, published April 28, 2000

Capsule review from area theaters . . .

The Count of Monte Cristo, Asolo Theatre, Sarasota. The Count of Monte Cristo is a 31/2-hour epic about a young sailor who is unjustly jailed for 20 years before escaping his French prison and gaining revenge through his alter ego, the Count of Monte Cristo. Alexandre Dumas' novel has been thoughtfully adapted, but the staging has yet to meet the unique dramatic demands of the script. Dumas created villains a reader could really despise. - CHRISTOPHER BLANK

The King and I, Show Palace Dinner Theatre, Hudson. This musical classic twinkles and shines from top to bottom. Credit goes in great part to lead actors Joe Lawrence, as an autocratic but vulnerable King Mongkut of 1860s Siam, and Mary Anne Boone, as the strong-willed Englishwoman brought in to teach his children the ways of European culture. With a cast of 41 well-prepared adults and children, more than 70 lavish costumes, Tom Hansen's sumptuous, quickly changed sets, and director Jimmy Ferraro's deft guidance, The King and I is, arguably, the Palace's most elaborate and seamless show to date. - BARBARA L. FREDRICKSEN

Swing! Swing! Swing! Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, Tampa. The golden age of swing, the all-star decade of the 1930s, starts off the first act of this cabaret show, nodding to legendary band leaders Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller and Count Basie. The second act traces the music's postwar evolution from singers such as Billie Holiday to modern bands such as the Cherry Poppin' Daddies. There is enough of everything in Swing! Swing! Swing! to tide over swing lovers young and old. Lots of dance and music. A little history. Plenty of costume changes. And talented performers. - CHRISTOPHER BLANK

Twelfth Night Fever, Demens Landing, St. Petersburg -- Every crazy concept under the sun has been imposed on Twelfth Night by directors in search of fresh perspective, and the disco theme might be as good as any, but what Kenneth Noel Mitchell has done with it is unpersuasive in American Stage's annual production at Demens Landing. It seems more like a gimmick than a true artistic response to Shakespeare. By referencing the dress-up and masquerade that came with the disco scene, Mitchell is clearly trying to get at the sexual ambiguity of the play, but the subtle romantic relationships are buried in all the glitz. - JOHN FLEMING

Visiting Mr. Green, Asolo Theatre, Sarasota. Nearly every young person has known an old curmudgeon with backward views. And nearly every older person has grappled with accepting the new standards of youth. Although Visiting Mr. Green is a charming play, Asolo's staging makes the egregious error of going for laughs. The performance feels like a mediocre sitcom. - CHRISTOPHER BLANK