Austinist Theatre Review: Pale Idiot

We just got home from taking in the third to last performance of Rude Mechanical's Pale Idiot at the Off Center. Since there are only two performances remaining, both of which are not sold out (much to our amazement), we're going to try jotting off an uncharacteristically short review.

We confess that we're not as familiar with the Rudes as we should be. Tonight's performance really made us feel rotten about missing so much great theatre. This is a reprisal of the Rude's very first work in Austin, performed in '96 at the Auditorium on Waller Creek. The show received critical accolades then, as it has in its current run.

Many impressively poetic things have been written about Pale Idiot. It's the sort of work that makes audience members feel tickled and deeply thoughtful, all at once. It's also the sort of work that causes reviewers to wax poetic. Since we're striving for brevity, however, we'll refrain from that. But we would lay on a nice, thick layer of verbal goo if we had the time.

And it's exactly that -- the verbal goo -- that's the centerpiece of this play. If you're unfamiliar with the work, it is, in short, the story of four villagers who, in the process of trying to rid their town of its idiot, are themselves subjected to the "Idiot Test". As performed by Heather Hanna, the test administrator is a funky cross between Frau Blücher and, well, a little Harold Hill. Or maybe Sergeant Pepper. Obviously she's hard to describe -- a sort of quixotic bureaucrat, oxymoronic as that might seem. Hanna is outstanding in the role. It was truly delightful to watch her work the villagers. She zings questions at them, and plays many a verbal trick meant to befuddle and frustrate. In Hanna's hands, the play zips along at a perfect pace.

In between each idiot test, Adriene Mishler's Idiot emerges from her silence to tell us strange little stories. Mishler is a very compelling actress. At times she holds herself uncomfortably rigid, and at others she crumples to a heap on the ground, all with the subtle grace of a dancer. Her storytelling also includes many subtleties, not the least of which is some wonderfully understated sarcasm and humor. We really enjoyed Mishler in this role, and we look forward to seeing her work again.

And the villagers are, of course, their own kind of treasure, though they are the straight men in this comedy. Lowell Bartholomee, Brock England, Robert S. Fisher, and Jodi Jinx round out the cast, personifying the ways in which sex, piety, self-centeredness, and snobbery (respectively) can make us idiots in our own right.

Lastly, we must mention the direction. We saw the firm hand and clear vision of a strong director in this performance. The blocking was bold without seeming stagey. The actors were representative without coming off as single-minded. It's a verbally complex piece that would falter in the hands of uncertainty. Under the direction of Michael Mergen, the play works extremely well.

Pale Idiot has only two remaining performances, Friday 12/16 and Saturday 12/17. We confirmed that there are still tickets for both nights, which can be had for a mere $10 - $12 by reserving online or calling 476-7833.

* Image (c) Rude Mechanicals

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