Mr. Marmalade: Bay Street Theatre

Oh, the joys of youth! Playing house, doctor, or cops n' robbers, and all without a care in the world. Or so one would think. However, given modern society's anesthetizing of our youth on television of questionable taste, with stories that often outstrip full comprehension of the young, it is actually no surprise the the Bay Street Theatre's latest trip through youthful imagination leaves us twisted, wasted, and cowering in the corner, afraid to laugh too hard.

Presented this past weekend, Noah Haidle's comedy Mr. Marmalade tells the story of a little girl named Lucy and her imaginary friend. However, this is no ordinary four-year-old. Instead of the happy-go-lucky we expect from this age group, Lucy is disturbingly aware. When one has to schedule times with one's imaginary friend, only to have him rush off to a meeting, one is not dealing with regular imagination here. And as Mr. Marmalade becomes more stressed, eventually becoming fully abusive (of both drugs and Lucy herself), the audience watches in fascination as child's play very quickly loses all charm. However, a testament to Mr. Haidle's optimism, Lucy is very much able to bounce back and, one hopes, achieve a level of normalcy in a dodge ball game.

Director Valerie Macaluso has truly accomplished something enjoyable here, managing to render the script afresh to a Savannah audience, despite the fact that a successful production of this same piece was mounted by Armstrong Atlantic State University about three years ago. Ms. Macaluso has led her cast in putting together a piece that is both fresh and coherent, an exciting and delightful accomplishment.

Al Gonzalez does well for himself in the title role, running the gamut from charming (almost but not-quite Fred Astaire) and urbane to a cocaine-snorting, abusive lunatic with an ease that tells of long practice. Also of note are John Macaluso's performance of Larry, where deadpan and matter-of-fact delivery render even beatings at the hands of and older brother humorous, and Travis Coles performance as Bradley, Mr. Marmalade's personal assistant, who breathes such a sigh of relief when all is said and done that one cannot help but believe that, despite the disturbing spectacle of the last ninety-five minutes, everything will indeed be ok. Chris Stanley and Kt Blackmon also take entertaining turns as anything from one-night-stands to waiters to cacti.

Perhaps most delightfully, kudos must be given to Brema Ebbing for costume design and Al Gonzalez for properties. To truly transport Mr. Marmalade, Bradley, and other imaginary friends form that other realm, a schema of roughly-drawn crayon is utilized to great effect, making things very clear in terms of what is "real" and what is "just pretend."

At the end of the day, it appears that the Bay Street Theatre has met the challenge registered by the reviewer of Hedwig and the Angry Inch, and that is finding a successful voice while doing something other than parading Chris Blair about in high heels.