Buckle Your Butler Belt, and Hang On!

The play’s title is misleading. There is no butler in What the Butler Saw. Before the play ever begins, its set reveals that this is not an English country house, but a doctor’s office in a mid-‘60s mental institution. Swinging doors upstage lead into the Ward; another door goes to the Dispensary, and one more to Reception. (All these doors are going to get a workout.) Medical supplies appear in a cabinet on the back wall, but the bookcase behind the doctor’s desk contains a row of what appear to be gin bottles. And the doctor in residence, Dr. Prentice, is now interviewing Miss Barclay, a miniskirted blonde, for the position of secretary.

There’s a form to be filled out, he tells her, and she must be entirely candid about her background. What’s all this about her stepmother being “killed by a public utility?” It seems that an explosion toppled a statue of Sir Winston Churchill, and some of his parts were embedded in the stepmother. Dr. Prentice says he’ll have to examine Miss Barclay’s legs to see what effect the stepmother’s demise has had on her, but during the exploration of her legs, he determines that a full exam will be required. “Undress,” he says, and pulls the curtain around the examination table.

We are only ten minutes into the play.

Joe Orton’s script is a full-fledged farce, and its frenetic pace will continue for the full two hours. The butler, program notes explain, is us. The title refers to “peep-shows once common in polite English society.” This audience is the voyeur. And there is plenty to peep at, though thankfully, it doesn’t go beyond underwear.

In short order (and an astonishing costume,) Mrs. Prentice makes an unwelcome appearance and has one of many drinks. Then the bellman at the hotel she’d stayed in, shows up, wanting to make some money in exchange for the secret photos he’d taken of the two of them.

A supervising physician, Dr. Rance, has an answer for everything. Finding that Prentice has a nude young woman behind the curtain, he proceeds to diagnose her condition. The young lady vehemently denies a love affair with her father, so she’s clearly delusional; off to the Ward she goes.

And there is, of course, a straight-arrow policeman trying to straighten out all the missing persons and alleged molestations while preferring “not to have Royalty mentioned in this context.” He’s especially upset about the damage to the manhood on Sir Winston’s statue.

The play’s action ratchets into a snarl of disguises, overdoses, gunfire and strait jackets, then ties it all up – even through lockdown -- with an entirely unexpected, delightful finish.

In this closing show of the season, Marin Theatre Company has pulled in a stageload of big talent. Amy Glazer, a frequent credit all over the Bay Area, is the Director, and all the actors are Equity professionals. Charles Shaw Robinson plays the bumbling Dr. Prentice, with Stacy Ross as his randy (for other men) wife. Cat Walleck is the much put-upon Miss Barclay; Rowan Brooks is the bellman and/or missing secretary, Nicholas Beckett. Andy Murray’s rigid explanations bring Dr. Rance to full attention, and Kevin Rolston’s Sgt. Match is no match for this bunch at the mental hospital.

It’s entirely right to direct applause also to Eric Flatmo for his homage-to-the-‘60s set and to Fumiko Bielefeldt’s costumes. (Where did she find the go-go boots?)

What the Butler Saw is a wild romp conclusion to the ’08-’09 season, but as good a show as it is, alas, this one isn’t for children. The play will be performed Tuesdays through Sundays through June 28. Ticket prices range from $20 to $51. Both prices and performance times vary. For complete information, see the website, www.marintheatre.org or call the box office, 388-5208.