By Michael J. Toscano
Special to The Washington Post
Thursday, March 8, 2007; VA09
First, a few random thoughts generated by the Little Theatre of Alexandria's sprightly production of Gore Vidal's "Visit to a Small Planet," the sardonically comic tale of a time-traveling space alien who thinks that it might be amusing to ignite World War III.
This may be the only time you'll hear someone exclaim, "Get away from my cortex!" After viewing a slice of bacon through the eyes of an extraterrestrial visitor, you'll never think of your BLT in quite the same way. Also, how can a society be more advanced than ours if it has have eliminated the need for both food and sex? Just wondering.
The masterful Vidal most assuredly planned to stimulate loftier thoughts when he created his dark sci-fi lampoon as a live television play in 1957. That was the year the Space Age began, when the Soviet Union launched the Sputnik satellite. A launch on Broadway for the show soon followed, and "Visit to a Small Planet" was hailed as a smartly satirical comedy that gave us an outsider's objective look at ourselves as both Americans and humans. Not yet as acerbic as he would later become, Vidal spoofed America's Cold War fear of communism, gently teased the military mind-set and highlighted the gathering impact of television. There were barbs about a society that glorifies violence but relegates sex to furtive groping.
Then Jerry Lewis came along and trashed it all with his 1960 film. The annoying yuckster turned Kreton, the alien created by Vidal as a supercilious and urbane dilettante, into Lewis's usual manic idiot. Keen satire was replaced by a limp love story. And that's how most people remember this work. Maybe the French liked it, but Vidal was enraged. Were Vidal, now a literary lion in winter, to amble into the graceful Wolfe Street theater, he might be somewhat mollified. Under C. Evans Kirk's careful direction, the play has been painstakingly resurrected. It is both sharp and funny.
Kreton, an intergalactic Civil War buff, plans a trip to 1861 Manassas to meddle with the historic battles there. But he overshoots by almost a century, only to realize the struggle between Soviet communism and American democracy is a much bigger playground. He will have his war, but possessing no emotions, he doesn't grasp why humans might be horrified.
The Lewis stain has not been totally erased. Rather than follow the lead of debonair actor Cyril Ritchard, who created Kreton on TV and Broadway, Brandon DeGroat has given in to Lewis's clown shtick. Contemporary critics described Ritchard's Kreton as a silky charmer whose smooth demeanor was a vivid counterpoint to his non-emotional threat. DeGroat's Kreton is an idiot savant. He has retained Ritchard's plummy English accent but drenches the character in campy fey flamboyance. DeGroat's performance is amusing, but the darker comedy and a few chills are lost.
While DeGroat frolics, Kirk and the other seven cast members find the delicate balance between realism and whimsy, with dialogue and movement mined for satirical effect. Ken and Patti Crowley's visual and sound effects are a constant presence, adroitly enhancing the story. The interaction between actors and effects is skillfully demonstrated in a hilarious moment when Deb Green, as the sex-crazed daughter of the household, starts hearing her private thoughts aloud when Kreton is reading her mind. The blending of the recorded inner voice with the live actor's reaction is a delightful moment of this production. Likewise, the Manassas home setting, designed by Dan Remmers and Kirk, is breathtakingly lovely, a three-level showcase of the wonders of capitalism.
Half a century after its premiere, our planet is even smaller, but a visitor would still find much in which to meddle. Mr. Vidal, maybe it's time for a sequel?
"Visit to a Small Planet" continues through March 17 at the Little Theatre of Alexandria, 600 Wolfe St., Alexandria. Performances at 8 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and 3 p.m. Sundays. For tickets or information, call the box office at 703-683-0496 or go tohttp://www.TheLittleTheatre.com.
