Ionescopade

Ionescopade had its West Coast premiere at the Odyssey back on August 7, 1982. Now the revue, which is based on bits and pieces of Ionesco's plays, poems and even journal entries, has been revived by the same theater, this time with William Castellino directing and choreographing.

A seven-person cast, backed up by a jazzy musical quartet, runs swiftly and skillfully with the material, sometimes working solo, other times in duets and ensembles. Acting as a kind of silent master of ceremonies, a Chaplinesque everyman, is Alan Abelew, who not only directs traffic but occasionally gets into the flow, performing one amazing magical trick after another.

It's no easy task to take such disparate Ionesco fragments as a passage from Exit the King, a scene from the full-length play Jeux De Massacre, a monologue from The Killer, excerpts from Rhinoceros and The Bald Soprano, and whip them into a whole, but Castellino is up to the challenge. Working with Kayden's inventive, tuneful score, and aided by Mylette Nora's wacky costumes, Castellino has put together a sprightly and entertaining show.

Ionesco is usually thought of as an absurdist or nihilist, someone who believes communication between human beings is impossible, but in the concluding number, “Wipe Out Games,” the cast stands shoulder to shoulder and, in a rousing chorus, reminds us that "one song of love can unite the world."