Prolific Jane Martin, who has written several plays about theater, created this wonderful satire, Anton in Show Business, currently at 6th@Penn Theater.
The first question is: just who is Jane Martin? She has never been seen. Could she be a pseudonym for the retired Actors Theater of Louisville artistic director Jon Jory, where her plays are premiered? Nobody seems to know. What we do know is that she has written a host of popular plays over a 25year period, among them, Anton in Show Business which premiered in 2000.
Artistic director Kate (Patricia Elmore Costa) has commissioned popular TV star Holly (DeAnna Driscoll) to play one of the sisters in Anton Chekhov's Three Sisters. She hires director Wikèwitch (Kelly Lapczynski) to direct and cast the rest of the show. He casts a tired, off-off Broadway actress, Casey (Robin Christ) and, under duress, a Texan newbie, Lisabette (Aimee Janelle Nelson) as the other leads. All the casting was done in New York City for the Texas production.
A monologue by T-Anne (Cashae Monya) opens the production. Monya dominates 6th@Penn's small space; I'm sure she could easily be heard a block away. She definitely gets the audience in the mood for an extremely entertaining production.
Anton in Show Business satirizes the trials and tribulations of a small independent off-off-off Broadway, off Manhattan Island, off New York State, off the East Coast theater. It could easily be the story of most of the theaters in San Diego.
Financing and angels are crucial to keeping a small playhouse in business. A recognizable actress or actor is a must. The selection of a play to bring prestige and audience to a theater can be a make-or-break decision. Plus, a theater is, like most artistic ventures, an institution with a myriad of sensitive egoistic people. In Anton, the artistic director reminds all that she is a graduate of Yale and Harvard. She's faced with a popular TV star who will do anything to advance her career, the off-off Broadway actress looking for a break-thru role, and a young, somewhat ditzy Texas blonde overwhelmed by just about everything.
And it only gets better. The Angel is a tobacco-industry bigwig with his own agenda. Julia Hoover, Jamie Lloyd, and Selena Wood along with Costa, Lapczynski, and Monya, all play multiple roles. Lloyd also has the responsibility for the costumes which, along with excellent acting, easily establish each of the multiple characters.
Morgan Trant as Joby completes the cast, although never on stage, except for the curtain call. She plays a disgruntled audience member complaining about everything, starting with comments about Lapczynski playing men's roles, rather than hiring a man. Trant gives audiences a delightful voice.
Anton in Show Business, like The Royal Family and Noises Off, illustrates the problems, pains, joys, and general absurdities the make theater so much fun and so bloody frustrating. Dale Morris's direction of these ten lovely and talented actresses captures the essence of Martin's satire. This is a theatergoer's must-see, for while it is a comedy, it speaks many truths.
