About a third of the way into Act II of The Frogs, Matthew McGee makes his first appearance, and the evening’s comedy finally blossoms.
Up until that moment, this freeFall Theatre production — the first in its new permanent home — has been pleasant and mildly funny, but not otherwise very remarkable. Then McGee appears as Pluto, Gay King of the Underworld, and he’s a campy, self-parodying delight. Now, central character Dionysus — played with real brio in both acts by Jorge Acosta — has a worthy counterpart, and the play — much adapted by Burt Shevelove and Nathan Lane from the original by Aristophanes — begins to offer some rich humor interspersed with serious reflections. Talk about a strong finish — for its last 40 minutes or so, The Frogs is smart, sharp and splendid.
It isn’t so at the start.
This article appears in Feb 3-9, 2011.