The Devil's Disciple

Reminded me of some of those small town "summer stock" productions I've had to sit through while on vacation -- either that or sit in the cabin with no car while the family went to the town outdoor playhouse for Dutch oven dinner and a play. It's a good cast and a witty little play, and I think people that like every Shaw production they've ever been to will enjoy it, but not for me. Seemed over acted, corny, and dated. Maybe it was the venue. One I would have sneaked out of at intermission... unless my kid was in the cast.

This is one of Shaw's lightest, most sentimental plays, written with such good pacing and such a pleasant touch that despite lacking quite as much of the incisive social commentary of something like "Pygmalion" or "Mrs. Warren's Profession," it's just a pleasure to read, watch, or hear.

This performance, with audience reactions audible, brings it to life. The humor is funny, the sarcasm is witty, the pathos is touching, and the characters are a great deal of fun.

Unlike some of Shaw's more profound works, the roles for women in this are painfully limited: there's the shrewish, selfish, short-sided, Puritan older woman, the child-like, devoted young woman with too few lines, and the sentimental woman in her prime who says a great deal to little effect and shows no insight into anyone, from magnetically attractive strangers to her own husband. I think the highest testimonial I can provide to both the play and this performance that I noticed all that and yet enjoyed it to the hilt nonetheless.

It won't change your world, but it may beguile a couple hours of it.