'Zorro' making its mark
The hint of camp that hangs over Lifeline Theatre's "The Mark of Zorro" puts a smile on your face without putting you off.
Were it played any broader or directed with a less sure hand, the world premiere of ensemble member Katie McLean's merry adaptation of the Johnston McCulley novel might have crossed the line and descended into silliness. "Zorro" doesn't, not in the hands of Lifeline artistic director Dorothy Milne, whose imaginative direction (including a truly inspired chase on horseback) reflects an understanding of moderation as well as a knack for managing melodrama.
Milne's actors walk up to that line and even peer over it. But with the exception of a couple of cast members whose outsize performances don't quite complement the tone adopted by the rest of the ensemble, they don't stray too far and the disarming "Zorro" stays on track.
More Coverage Video 'Mark of Zorro'
Combining romance, humor and lively stage combat, this swashbuckler plays like a TV drama from the golden age. With its chaste romance, swordplay that is mostly without serious consequences, paper tiger villains and magnanimous victors, Lifeline's production tips its gaucho hat to the Disney Studios television series based on McCulley's hero, that ran on ABC from 1957 to 1959.
Essentially about the obligation to oneself, one's family and one's community, the play centers on its titular hero -- the enigmatic, Robin Hood-style defender of the oppressed -- and his aristocratic, somewhat foppish alter-ego Don Diego Vega. Both roles are played by the nimble James Elly. A slender, unconventional but wholly convincing hero, Elly's seamless shift from simpering smile to confident smirk reflect the ease with which he negotiates the dual roles.
The story unfolds in 19th-century California, whose mission-style haciendas are simply evoked by set designer Alan Donahue. Bowing to the wishes of his wealthy father Don Alejandro (the imposing Don Bender), Diego agrees to court the feisty Lolita, played by the charming Rosa de Guindos. Tiring easily and wooing awkwardly, the ambivalent Diego fails to impress her, which disappoints her parents Don Carlos (Larry Baldacci) and Dona Catalina (Allison Cain), whose fortune has eroded under the corrupt governor played by Hanlon Smith-Dorsey (who also plays Fray Felipe, a "rogue Franciscan" friar sympathetic to Zorro).
Lolita has another suitor in Captain Ramon (Robert Kauzlaric, nicely insinuating as the villain of the piece), but of course Elly's dashing Zorro proves more desirable. Rounding out the cast is Manny Tamayo as the blustering Sergeant Gonzales, eager to capture the elusive outlaw and pocket the reward.
Like every good melodrama, "Zorro" comes with a manipulative score. And like every good swashbuckler, it features great sword-fighting, with Elly and Kauzlaric making especially well-matched opponents. Geoff Coates earns praise for his rollicking fight choreography. Exploding across Lifeline's small stage, it dominates the action-packed second act of this wonderfully good-humored show whose flirtation with camp takes nothing away from what is a jolly good evening of theater.
"The Mark of Zorro"
3 stars out of four
Location: Lifeline Theatre, 6912 N. Glenwood Ave., Chicago
Times: 7:30 p.m. Fridays; 4 and 8 p.m. Saturdays; 4 p.m. Sundays through June 22
Running Time: About 2 hours, 10 minutes with intermission
Tickets: $15-$25
Parking: Free parking west of the theater in the lot at the northeast corner of Morse and Ravenswood avenues, with free shuttle service to the theater
Box office: (773) 761-4477 or www.lifelinetheatre.com
Rating: For most ages