Stage: Albert Camus' Caligula

Power play

By J.D. Mitchell

What is power? Caligula struggles with two distinct solutions: money and choice.

Cockroach Theatre is the valley company ambitious enough, crazy enough to take on this existential classic. And, indeed, it found the absurdly funny story it was looking for. Maddened by the death of his sister (and lover), Caligula is suddenly aware of his own authority's--nay, his life's--futility. He abandons his palace to chase the moon, for "when the impossible has come to Earth and the moon is in my hands...then men will die no more and at last be happy."

No matter his will, Caligula will not see his choice--to get the moon--come to fruition. He returns, an impotent god. His mind is all but set: His power is limited. The rest of his life campaigns to prove otherwise. Grossly entertaining the advice of his patricians, Caligula confiscates all the empire's money. Soon he's compulsively sentencing mass executions on whims even his closest subjects cannot escape. Choosing death for life becomes Caligula's superpower, and conspiracies to assassinate him abound.

Where's the fun in that? How absolutely bleak and boring to spend your night moping through Caligula, right? On the contrary. It's a comedy! It's a two-ton cartoon-anvil that Cockroach drops on your head from 10 stories up. Absolutely hilarious. From the first scene, when Caligula (played by Levi Fackrell) clambers onto the stage, you laugh. His performance is hysterically profound.

No worries--with some performances nearly getting laughs for the wrong reasons, you get time to rest your sides. Erica Stoddard (Caesonia) plays a role too big for her britches; Vince Ragazzo (Mucius) can't time subtle humor; and Art Breyfogle (Octavius) barely pulls off a single genuine moment. Director Jason M. DeFreitas condensed and blended a few of Albert Camus' characters for this production, and while seamlessly adapted, the task daunts novice actors.

But these moments are brief. Shortly, Fackrell returns life (ironically) and laughs back to the stage...with a little help. Cockroach does yield other solid performances in John A. Lorenz (Helicon) and Will Adamson (Cherea), who redeem scenes absent of Caligula; and Shawn Overton's portrayal of the androgynous Scipio (a wife whispers to her husband: "Is that a woman?") is so gentle and understanding it's no wonder even Caligula is moved by him.

You have the power to choose from a limited number of plays this weekend. Choose this one. It's worth the money.