“What else does a man live behind besides his name and the stories he tells?” It’s a profound statement indeed for Primary Stages’ otherwise juvenile production, save for the last half hour.
Based on historical accounts and written by Donald Margulies, Shipwrecked! An Entertainment—The Amazing Adventures of Louis de Rougemont (As Told by Himself) reads like a love letter to Peter Pan and all his lost boys. Louis de Rougemont (Michael Countryman) is a man-child in search of adventure. Taking the second star to the right, we accompany him as he sets sail in search of coral treasures and laugh along as he charms Aborigines with his acrobatics.
Under the tutelage of director Lisa Peterson, the cast and crew use a host of unconventional materials to keep our imaginations in flight. A mirror at the back of the theater reflects water bubbles onstage with the help of Stephen Strawbridge’s clever lighting. And pulling a favorite from the trunk of make believe, a plain white sheet morphs from sail to octopus tentacle faster than you can say “one Mississippi.”
The cast of three does a commendable job of portraying the gamut of roles this play calls for. Jeremy Bobb deserves special mention, as he plays Rougemont’s canine sidekick with such lifelike mannerisms it’s a wonder he isn’t up for Best in Show this weekend. Countryman and Donnetta Lavinia Grays (Player 1) do a fine job in their respective parts but lack the over-the-top energy Bobb exudes. As a result, Shipwrecked! teeters on becoming saccharine children’s fare with little to offer audience members over the age of 10.
Characterized as a playful coming-of-age tale—Rougemont leaves his home in London to “find himself”—the play is surprising in that the plot turns to reflect the more somber fate of this would-be-explorer. About sixty minutes into the show, we learn that Rougemont is perhaps nothing more than a phony, a fabulous inventor of fictions. Shipwrecked! chronicles the day the Royal Geographical Society discredited the magazine articles Rougemont wrote about his adventures abroad, and this part of the show is grounded in European historical record. As if belonging to another play entirely, the belabored tale comes to a poignant close.
When Rougemont asks us to believe in him as the stuffy academics get caught up in the questionably embellished details of his journey, he seems to be channeling the late Mary Martin. (Clap your hands if you believe in fairies, children!) We’re watching adults play pirates and Indians here, but unlike children, our attention spans for Neverland escapism begin to wane well before the final curtain call.
Shipwrecked! An Entertainment—The Amazing Adventures of Louis de Rougemont (As Told by Himself) runs through March 9th at Primary Stages, located at 59 E. 59th Street. Tickets are $20 for students.
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