THEATER REVIEW : ‘SLY FOX’ PERFORMERS FALL SHORT

SAN DIEGO —  The trick to doing a good play about a con man is that somehow the audience must be made to want his sting to work. That’s not so hard in “The Rainmaker” and “The Music Man,” where people are ultimately “conned” into hope and pride and feeling better about themselves.

It’s a tougher nut in “Sly Fox,” a tale of greed outfoxing greed.

Larry Gelbart’s adaptation of Ben Jonson’s “Volpone” was a great success in New York with George C. Scott in the lead role; it takes a consummate actor to make a consummate villain likable. The production of “Sly Fox” on the main stage of the Marquis Public Theater through May 23 lacks the performances that would make it sing. However, a clever script and imaginative staging go a long way toward making an entertaining evening.

The action takes place in turn-of-the-century San Francisco, where Foxwell J. Sly lives in a fine house that is financed through a scam. He poses as a wealthy, dying man without family, so that those who want to inherit his worldly goods will give him their wordly goods to curry his favor.

With the help of servant Simon Able, an ex-gambler whom he “bought” from debtor’s prison, he ensnares three pigeons who expect to be named his sole heir: Craven, a lawyer; Jethro Crouch, a wealthy old man (or wealthy until Sly gets to him), and Albert Truckle, who is so suspicious about his wife’s virtue that his greatest dream is to have the money to hire spies to guard her at all times.

Though Sly’s plan succeeds in putting much gold in his coffers, it does have one serious flaw. What happens when he doesn’t die? To this he adds his own complications. It is not enough for him to fleece his victims; he wants to humiliate them. He plots to get Crouch to disinherit his son and Truckle to let him sleep with his wife.

The parts lend themselves to caricature, and the principal problem with this production is that the actors give themselves up to it. One notable exception is J. Paul Moretto as Truckle. He is delightfully convincing as the man for whom fanatical jealousy and fanatical greed are perfectly reasonable. When he shifts, perplexed, from one foot to the other, considering whether to give his wife to Sly, you can see him measuring the pros and cons. That and his puffed-up swagger are two of the funniest things in the show.

The best of the rest are Sheldon Gero as the doddering old Crouch and Susan Simmons as the lovely Mrs. Truckle. At times they seem excessive, but more often they are genuinely engaging. Simmons has the sweet good looks of Walt Disney’s Snow White; she makes quite a contrast with this feckless flock of faithless dwarfs.

Another bright spot is provided by Christine Kemp in the tiny part of the clerk who is always paragraphs behind any court testimony.

Their work, however, does not make up for a black hole as far as the others are concerned. Norbert Ehrenfreund and Sam Gooch work hard at Sly and Able, respectively, and perform their parts with energy. But neither is sufficiently convincing, and Ehrenfreund is just too prosaic to cut it in the wickedly irresistible department.

Director Minerva Marquis deftly keeps the movement going in this farce, navigating smoothly around the quick entrances, exits, dropped screens, raised screens and even--new to the Marquis--a revolving stage. The set by Gooch and Phil Burns, while having a distinctly homemade feel, facilitates the action effectively.

The costumes by Patricia Hill, Elie Freedman and Simmons re-create the era charmingly, from the women’s long sweeping skirts to the men’s long ribbon bow ties. The lighting and sound by Ellery Brown add to the mood with ragtime selections and the light play between scenes that suggests silent movies.

The Marquis production of “Sly Fox” is not polished theater by any means. But if you’ve never seen this exceedingly clever play, it is good fun. “SLY FOX”

By Larry Gelbart. Adapted from Ben Jonson’s “Volpone.” Director, Minerva Marquis. Set, Sam Gooch and Phil Burns. Light and sound, Ellery Brown. Technical director, Sam Gooch. Costumes, Patricia Hill, Elie Freedman and Susan Simmons. Stage manager, Rachelle Seelinger. With Jim Brady, Ellery Brown, Norbert Ehrenfreund, Elie Freedman, Sheldon Gero, Sam Gooch, Christine Kemp, Jeff Makey, J. Paul Moretto, David M. Paynter, Rachelle Seelinger and Susan Simmons. At 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 7 p.m. Sunday through May 23. At the Marquis Public Theater, 3717 India St., San Diego.