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Bay Area stage regulars Ashley Garlick and Keith Pinto have played some interesting couples over the years. They bent genders when she was the slavish assistant Yitzhak to his universally ignored rock star with the botched sex change in “Hedwig and the Angry Inch.” Later, he was the Sweet Transvestite who seduced her Janet Weiss in “The Rocky Horror Show.” Their characters in “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,” now at San Jose Stage Company, are still a bit bent, but the costumes and makeup are less extreme.
Set on the French Riviera, the musical revolves around suave con artist Lawrence Jameson, played by Jonathan Rhys Williams, having his swanky turf invaded by Pinto’s uncouth petty thief Freddy Benson. To settle control of the territory, the two agree to a winner-takes-all contest based on who can be the first to swindle dingy heiress Christine Colgate, played by Garlick.
Before being cast, Garlick was familiar with the show, citing Sherie Rene Scott, her role’s originator in the Broadway production, as having “big shoes to fill both vocally and acting wise.” Steve Martin from the 1988 nonmusical film version was the hook for Pinto.
“I’m a huge Steve Martin fan,” he says, “and particularly of that movie. It’s the type of role where I’m living my best Bugs Bunny life, though Freddy is more of an idiot than Bugs. So maybe it’s a hybrid Bugs-Daffy Duck kind of thing. Either way, very Looney Tunes.”
“Gosh, I don’t know,” says Garlick with more than a touch of that breathless ingénue earnestness. “I try to always think of characters like a of bit an extension of myself, but, like Keith was saying, with Bugs Bunny on top. There’s a lot of goofiness piled on with Christine, and a lot of charm, just cranked up to 11.”
Both give high marks to their director, Johnny Moreno, a local actor who frequents many area stages.
“Johnny is super, super collaborative,” says Garlick. “Really easy to work with and definitely open to experimenting and trying things out in the rehearsal room.”
Pinto adds that Moreno is “a big fan of the original movie ‘Bedtime Story’” on which the 1988 “Scoundrels” was based, and which starred David Niven, Marlon Brando and Shirley Jones. “He definitely brought that knowledge to the process and had a lot of things he really wanted from the characters. Also, that [three-quarter thrust stage] space is tricky. He was aware of the possible trap of just finding yourself standing in one spot all the time, so he was always moving to see what the [audience’s] picture was.”
The “Scoundrels” rely on gullibility and misplaced trust to achieve their goals. Garlick finds that very relevant to life today: “I definitely think that the con is still on. There are some people who might say this material is kind of dated, you know, men swindling women out of their money.” She pauses. “Are you kidding me? Have you watched Netflix in the last five years? Like ‘The Tinder Swindler’ or these cults that are conning people into joining and giving them all their money? Yeah, this is very topical right now.”
Pinto adds, “I think, especially coming out of pandemic times, people are isolated. They want connection. They want excitement. It’s hard to know what’s real on the interwebs. Also, it’s not just men conning women. There’s more to this story. Not to like ‘spoiler alert,’ but it’s not that simple.”
The plot of “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” also relies on the unfortunate trope of underestimating women and thinking of them as property to be exchanged, though this production tries to mitigate the message. “I think everyone gets what’s coming to them,” says Pinto.
“In our effort to address some of these really important issues in society,” he adds, “especially in terms of misogyny or racism, when it comes to satire, I think maybe some of the nuance of why satire exists is lost. With good reason, people are a little, you know, on edge. So, they may not be able to see the bigger picture of what satire is saying. If you’re producing a Mel Brooks show, you’re doing and saying offensive things, but it’s making a point. So, when you come see this show, if you go away feeling like it’s just these guys taking advantage, I just wonder at what point did you fall asleep?”
Garlick agrees. “We’ve talked about this quite a bit. People aren’t always looking at the whole picture. I read a comment online about ‘these women, they’re just so easily fooled and they’re one dimensional and blah, blah, blah.’ That’s a very victim blaming thing to think. These are professional con men who are specifically targeting these women to get their money. So, I say, continue to watch the show and you will find out what happens to these folks. It’s all in good fun, of course. We enjoy watching the bad guys for a while, but we do also enjoy them getting what’s coming to them.”
This production of “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” marks San Jose Stage Co.’s first musical since the pandemic. It’s cause for celebration, given the troupe is known for big summer hits like “Mamma Mia!” and “Chicago.”
“People have been wondering about it and begging for it for a while,” says Garlick, “so it’s fun to make a big splash with a show with really exciting music.”
“Tons of fun,” concurs Pinto. “Producing musicals is big, and it costs. Many people doing double duty to help make this happen. Ms. Garlick here designed the costumes and plays a lead. Jonathan Williams, designed the set, built the set, and is playing a lead. So yeah, everyone worked really hard to get this thing going and we’re doing it.”
San Jose Stage Company’s “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” runs through June 30 at The Stage, 490 S. First St., San Jose, CA 95113 Tickets are $43-$62 at thestage.org.
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