A Colorful, Dutiful Rendition of ‘Volpone’ From A Noise Within

“Go home and die and stink.” This stunning insult is merely a pebble in the sea of villainy that is Ben Jonson’s black comedy “Volpone.” In Glendale, A Noise Within presents the 1605 satire--one of the darkest views of human nature ever written--with sporadic splashes of spunk and style. A watchful chorus of vultures observes the play, squawking at some of the more appalling goings-on. But for all its colorful high concept, “Volpone” remains at heart a dutiful rendition of a classic.

Pretending to be at death’s door, Volpone (Dan Kern) spends his day in bed impersonating a vegetable, while his servant Mosca (Francois Giroday) keeps dangling a contingent of Venetian town elders sporting black robes and vulture beaks, each one of whom believes he will be Volpone’s heir. Much to Volpone’s malicious delight, each of the “suitors” is willing to compromise any human bond or idea of decency to get the money. One disinherits his only son, another agrees to sell his virtuous wife into prostitution. In fact, Volpone’s wealth consists mainly of gifts extorted from these greedy hopefuls, gifts that Volpone collects inside a glistening closet at which he kneels and offers prayers.

Like the chorus of vultures, Giroday’s Mosca too is part bird; his pants look like they’re molting. His overly large, round Philip Johnson glasses and gangly physicality give him the appearance of an owlish crane. He wheedles and preens and smooths the ruffled feathers of competing misers. Giroday seems, though, not in total control of his performance. He appears authentically awkward and so obviously corrupt that it’s hard to believe he would be able to calm the fearful, greedy suitors. And if the seducer is as oily as his victims, the fun of the play is cut in half.

As Volpone, Kern dissembles more smoothly; his cartoonish red hair provides the shock of his health whenever he removes his stocking cap. But, as with Giroday, Kern shows his villainy too energetically. As soon as a visitor with a gold offering gets close to his sick bed, Kern reaches out and pulls, suddenly vigorous. His most horrifying act--the attempted rape of a pious young wife named Celia--comes off as merely brutish. Kern does not distinguish Volpone the plunderer of the corrupt from Volpone the truly evil.

Part of the problem is Allison Sie’s Celia, whose trembling and weeping is lifted from a daytime soap opera. As the two truly good young people, neither Sie nor Richard Soto as the noble Bonario provides any interesting shading in Jonson’s admittedly bald distinctions between wholly evil and wholly virtuous.

Director and adapter Art Manke must be faulted with this production’s duller aspects as well as credited for its occasional vibrancy. As Lady Politic Would Be, a snooty British victim of Volpone, Anna C. Miller is a wonderful spectacle. It looks as though she’s wearing a turntable inside her skirt, from which dangle little volumes of English literature like dance cards. She constantly threatens to topple from the great height of her platform shoes, and her facial powder seems to be waging a war with her nose. Brilliantly realized by costume designer Alex Jaeger, Lady Politic is a dream of imperious stupidity. Mitchell Edmonds as Sir Politic Would Be and Apollo Dukakis as a half-deaf miser also stand out.

Despite stylish touches, “Volpone” seems tired at its core, as if greed and moral cowardice no longer had the power to shock but only to amuse, slightly.

* “Volpone,” A Noise Within, 234 S. Brand Blvd., Glendale, March 22, April 12, 19, May 10, 2 and 7 p.m.; March 25-26, April 22-23, May 1 and 15, 8 p.m.; May 2 and 16, 2 p.m.; May 17, 7 p.m. Ends May 17. $22-$27. (818) 546-1924. Running time: 2 hours, 30 minutes.

Dan Kern: Volpone

Francois Giroday: Mosca

Mark Bramhall: Voltore

Apollo Dukakis: Corbaccio

Jay Bell: Corvino

Allison Sie:Celia

Richard Soto: Bonario

Kathi Hall: Nano

Ruth Pawluk: Androgyno

Chris Bultman: Castrone

Mitchell Edmonds: Sir Politic Would Be

Anna C. Miller: Lady Politic Would Be

Robertson Dean: Peregrine

With: Gil Roscoe, Todd Beadle, Louis Lotorto, Dena Cerino, Samantha Erin, Matt Klekotka, James Oates, Marchele Peterc, Lindy Ransom, Dean Schaller, Courtney Weber, Lee Whitaker

A Noise Within production. By Ben Jonson. Adapted and directed by Art Manke. Set Michael C. Smith. Costumes Alex Jaeger. Lights Beverley M. Thies. Music Michael Welsh. Mask and properties Nathanial Reed. Scenic artist Elizabeth Wade. Stage manager Vanessa Noon.