Engaging Shaw at the Old Globe is just plain good theatre

August 16, 2011

In playwright John Morogiello’s
witty and appealing Engaging Shaw now
on the Sheryl and Harvey White Stage at the Old Globe Theatre, Rod Brogan
(Shaw), Angela Pierce (Charlotte Payne-Townshend), Michael Warner (Sidney Webb)
and Natalie Gold (Beatrice Webb) create their own Web of conspiracy (wink,
wink) about the relationship between the writer and fellow traveler and how it
all went down between G.B. Shaw and his accidental lover Charlotte
Payne-Townshend.

Accidental? Well, they did meet
over a biking accident (according to Morogiello) when Payne-Townshend and Shaw
collided as they were both approaching the Webb’s home. Sidney Webb was a
famous socialist. He and his wife Natalie headed up the London School of Economics of which Shaw was a committed member.
But the organization was in financial trouble: enter Charlotte Payne-Townshend
beautiful, rich and celibate and not making any bones about it, at the age of
40. She was a well known a socialite, a rebel without a cause, and an heiress
money to contribute to the Webb’s position and a good catch, in Webb’s mind,
for Shaw as well.

‘When an irresistible force
(Payne-Townshend) meets an immovable object (Shaw) …You can just be sure as
long as you live, Somethin’s gotta give’. And so the games begin with
conversations between Shaw and Payne-Townshend that are laced with doubt,
self-aggrandizement, intellectual posturing, long winded speeches and an on
again-off again budding romance (though thoroughly anti- romantic) that chugs
along   until they reach, what was known
all along, their coming together.

Morogiello bases his romantic
comedy on the real life romance between the two. Shaw who penned Mrs. Warren’s Profession, Major Barbara and
Pygmalion makes perfectly clear that
he liked strong willed women, harbored a fascination with them and had them
speak their beliefs way ahead of their time. But, he didn’t want to marry.
There in is the rub in Engaging Shaw,
Morogiello’s play on words comedy.

It’s just fascinating, under Henry
Wishcamper’s strong direction, watching and listening to the characters as they
take on their specific roles. The Globe’s production in the theatre in the
round seems the perfect venue for the strong headed and conceited Shaw as
portrayed by Rod Brogan. When he spars and dances with the cooler more level
headed (in the beginning) Charlotte the sparks fly, the heat is on. Of course
dancing with an ego the size of Shaw’s has to have been exasperating and oft
times led nowhere. “I would never call myself the greatest man in England. I
would wait politely for you to say it. —And I’m certain you will some day.
All women do.”

Angela Pierce, lovely and
attractive in Alejo Vietti’s period costumes, is just what the doctor ordered
for the strong-headed antics of Shaw as she matches him (Bernie as he wishes to
be referred) intellect for intellect (..”I have yet to find the woman who is my
intellectual peer”.) (”I should pity my sex if we harbored the equal of
you”).  Later on in their relationship
when she leaves him helpless and alone he is still bound and determined NOT to
have his ‘wings clipped’ by her.  She
though is bound and determined to marry the man.

As catalysts, both Natalie Gold and
Michael Warner make a handsome couple as the Webb’s handling themselves
beautifully as they organize and prepare for bigger things to come for their
London School of Economics. Not subtle at all in her matchmaking efforts
though, Beatrice Webb is anything but a wallflower. But when Charlotte
approaches her plot in making the romance become a reality, the conversations
turn more personal and detailed and the play takes on a more dramatic and
sentimental but meaningful turn. First seen as partners in business then rivals
they soon discover that by working together they could get more done than by
being rivals.

It all turns out well though and
Morogiello’s (with excerpts from George Bernard Shaw) revelations are spot on
as to Shaw’s feelings on sex, and women and chasteness. Bottom line though, as
clever and as witty as Shaw professed to be he finally agreed to marry
Charlotte after he finds himself helpless being his own secretary. They were
married 45 years until her death.

There were no bones made about the
fact that it was a chaste marriage. S.
“What about sex?” C. “I assumed
that, having experienced it together once, we need not expect it again”.  S
“Marriage is not a sexual contract but a social one”.

This is one show I highly recommend
to anyone and everyone who enjoys fine acting with a strong cast, high
production values and stimulating dialogue. It is delightful and yes engaging,
through and through.

See you at the theatre.

Dates: Through Sept. 4th

Organization: The Old Globe Theatre

Phone: 619-234-5623

Production Type: Romantic Comedy

Where: Balboa Park

Ticket Prices: $29.00- $67.00

Web: theoldglobe.org

Venue: Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre

*
Davis is a San Diego-base theatre critic.  She may be contacted at carol.davis@sdjewishworld.com