Naples was the latest stop for experimental theater Krypton's production of Samuel Beckett's 1961 Happy Days. The offering was part of the successful joint subscription Mercadante 2, uniting the most interesting productions here at Galleria Toledo with others at Teatro Nuovo and the Mercadante in an effort to expand the audience for serious theater in Naples. As is customary, Carlo Frutteto's classic Italian translation, made directly from Beckett's original French, was used.
Entering the theater, patrons saw the unique image of Winnie played by an excellent Marion D'Amburgo buried up to her bodice in a great white mound surrounded by bright lights on stands. Using a voice that seemed to be an imitation of English schoolteacher, Ms. D'Amburgo released Winnie's thoughts in random order while dallying with the objects from her bag. Costume elements such as her rhinestone glasses and a comical hat decked with roses only made the tense moments when she played with the gun more absurd.
Reentering, the audience found a powdered Winnie buried up to her neck, her hat replaced by a white shower cap and the entire set dusted white. The elusive, shoeless Willie (director Giancarlo Cauteruccio) in top hat wearing an ill-fitting suit with a pink vest scrambling up Winnie's, mound was a perfect final touch.
Mr. Cauteruccio made Winnie more Latin than Americans usually see, and perhaps her continual arm movements (in the first half) quickly became distracting. The somewhat puzzled audience reacted with enthusiasm for both the play and the supreme effort by Ms. D'Amburgo.
