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The Comedy of Asses (Asinaria) is a musical comedy by Roman playwright Plautus who was considered "The Father of Comedy." The stock characters raunchy humor plays to the audience the entire time. The characters’ lack of ethics and outrageous proposals test moral limits while generating bursts of laughter.

Set in Athens, an old man, Demaenetus, conjures a plan with his two slaves, Libanus and Leonida, to cheat his homely wife out of some money to help his son Argyrippus secure a year with the seasoned procuress’ daughter, Philaenium.

Two mischievous slaves manage to get the money with improvised trickery, but as it turns out the supportive father has some atrocious stipulations; he demands a night with lovely Philaenium. The hilarious and shameless rollercoaster comes to a halt when Artemona, the duped wife, intervenes with a determined hand.

UMKC Theatre production of Comedy of Asses makes the humor of ancient Rome relevant, proving that with insightful adaptation modern audiences can still laugh at the same basic deficiencies of human character.

Sitcom mannerisms blended with historical demands of the play make the humor accessible. The play opens with a musical interlude played by a mixed group of musicians and actors. Players filled the small area reserved for the band one-by-one until what looked like the entire cast was crammed in a tiny music box. What comes next is two acts of comedy played in dizzying speed and fascinating synergy.

The absurdity of characters as a group of unruly merrymakers was emphasized by the variety of builds and accents in the cast. As the tradition required, each stock character portrayed exaggerated stereotypes. However, endearing personality traits and the obvious talents of the actors steered away from cliché pitfalls.

The stars of the night were Greg Brostrom (Libanus) and Grant Fletcher Prewitt (Leonida) who portrayed the typical slave characters found in Plautine theater. They maintained the cardio-workout-like momentum without missing a beat. The wickedly charming duo inspired not only as artists but also as athletes.

Molly Kate Banks (The Mute), a freshman theater student with her first appearance on a UMKC Theatre stage, was the source of sweetness in the production. She stood in the middle of absurd chaos exuding innocence.

The musical numbers were written by the directors Stephanie Roberts, Theodore Swetz, and Cynthia Postlewait; the original words and music were unpretentious, clever, and highly entertaining. Actors performed the musical numbers, ranged from quasi-Romanian gypsy music to gospel with varying degrees of gusto and skill.  

Quoting Plautus, "The purpose of comedy is to lift the burden of the world off the spectator for a moment." UMKC Theatre, with their production of The Comedy of Asses managed to lift that burden for the entire night. What a rare treat to see a cast that enjoyed themselves on the stage as much as the audience did from their seats.

REVIEW
UMKC Theatre 
Comedy of Asses
October 26–30, 2011 (Reviewed Wednesday, October 26)
Spencer Theatre, James C. Olson Performing Arts Center, UMKC Campus
4949 Cherry St., Kansas City, MO
For more information, visit www.umkctheatre.org

Top Photo: Rufus Burns as Demaenetus in Comedy of Asses (Photo by Gabe Hopkins)

By Nihan Yesil

Classical, New Classical, Jazz, Theatre Contributor
Nihan Yesil is a composer/performance artist and currently a candidate of M.M.Composition at the UMKC Conservatory. She composes both acoustic and electroacoustic music and has a strong interest in experimenting with the perception of sound and language.

Nihan started studying classical music with her father, M. Emin Yesil, at an early age and earned a bachelor's degree in Jazz Composition in Istanbul, Turkey, studying with Lawrence D. "Butch" Morris, Ali Perret, and Aydin Esen. She participated in festivals and artist residencies inclduing the Henry Mancini Institute, Czech-American Summer Music Institute, Brevard Music Festival, Electronic Music Midwest Festival, Women in New Music, Oregon Bach Festival Composers Symposium, Escape to Create Artist-in-Residence Program and I-Park Artists' Enclave Residency where she also served as a selection committee member for the composition program. Her compositions have been performed at number of venues both in Turkey and the U.S.

Her favorite activity is experiencing or witnessing any form of artistic creativity. Nihan is a big fan of the Internet and keeps several blogs where she presents her unsolicited opinion on different subject matters.