IVAN, HO! A KNIGHT OF 1,000 LAUGHS, Off Broadway Theatre, 272 S. Main; written by Bob Bedore and Eric Jensen; continues Monday and Thursdays-Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. through June 14. All seats reserved ($8 for adults, $6 for senior citizens and students and $5 for children, 12 and under). Box office: 355-4628. Running time: two hours, five minutes (one intermission).
In this fast-and-loose rendering of the classic adventure, "Ivanhoe," you can't say that Sir Cedric's knave, Wamba, is nobody's fool.No, indeed. Wamba, as played by comedian extraordinaire Eric Jensen, is everybody's fool. He bumbles and stumbles into and out of one chaotic situation after another (and his character's name certainly adapts nicely to the show's "Help Me, Wamba" production number).
`Ivan, Ho!" really hits its stride when the puns and one-liners are being juggled back and forth with the dexterity of a jester in King Arthur's court. Most of the cast members are also a part of "Quick Wits," OBT's ongoing series of weekend "improv" comedy outings, and their well-honed sense of comedic timing is evident.
Don't even try to compare this to the recent three-part cable-TV miniseries. The preshow music, culled from the soundtracks of epic-scale, period films, plus scenery designer Frank Ackerman's tapestry-style mural, might lull the unwary into thinking this is going to be a majestic and realistically regal drama.
But OBT's fans know that is simply not the case. They come for hilarity and plenty of laughs, not high-toned literary enlightenment.
The cast of mostly OBT regulars pulls it off in grand style. It includes Bob Bedore as villainous Maire de Fromage ("the Dark Knightmare") and Cody K. Carlson as his sidekick, Jean Loo Bidet ("the Porcelain Knight"). They're a pair of stormin' Normans - and handy foils for a batch of "Norman missionary" jokes.
"Have you heard of the Normans?" Bidet asks after they've been invited into Cedric's castle. "Would you like to know more?"
Tall and well-built Ben Porter provides the heroic stature required for the title role, with Ashley Sandberg and Melissa Porter (the latter alternating with Laura Bedore) as the cat-fighting rivals for his attention - Rowena, and the visiting Rebecca of York (who arrives at the castle with her Jewish father, Isaac, played by Russell Peacock).
There's plenty of good-natured action as the plot unravels, what with Ivanhoe stirring up things at the jousting tournaments and the good guys trying to retrieve King Richard's ransom money from Fro-mage and Bidet.
The jousts, with some interesting props for the horses, are the best part of the show (except for the silly "Greased Lightning" musical ode to Ivanhoe's steed - an animal procured by Wamba from "Horse-crafters.")
As is frequently the case with OBT's original spoofs, the comedy fares much better than the tossed-in-at-random musical numbers, most of which tend to throw a monkey wrench into the flow of the humor. With one or two exceptions, most of the musical pieces integrated into this show are more disruptive than helpful. (The Off Broadway's tiny stage doesn't really lend itself to production numbers anyway.)
The one that worked the best here was Rowena's "Achy, Breaky Heart" line dance, when she's crying her heart out over the fact that Ivanhoe is still off fighting in the Crusades - and that Cedric will not allow his disinherited "Son With No Name" back into the castle.
Laura Bedore's period costuming was both stylish and humorous . . . ranging from classic-style armor for the guys (and two paper bags over his head for Ivanhoe's initial appearance as "The Unknown Knight") and authentic gowns for the women.