John Patrick and Alex Smith as Lewis & Clark Photo: Andy Duback

The Complete History of America (Abridged)

9/29-10/17/04
Vermont Stage Company, Burlington

THE COMPLETE HISTORY OF AMERICA (ABRIDGED) is a witty, silly and very, very funny play. It's a wonderful mélange of historical malapropisms, dark humor and zany slapstick. As one of the actors says when comparing British and American history, "It's not the length of your history - it's how you use it." For example, picture the vaudeville team of Lewis and Clark complete with corny jokes and Marx Brothers-like sound effects - the mind boggles.

Scenic and lighting designer John Devlin has conceived a minimal set that allows a good 360 degree view of the actors, and even uses light cues to add to the humor. I'm not sure who's responsible for the huge number of wigs, costumes and props, but they're terrific. I do know that Rebekah F. Kersten, listed in the program as the sole and no doubt exhausted member of the costume running crew, does a great job with the multitude of lightning fast changes.

The three actors who race through this mountain of material from Columbus to Korea are all excellent. Their energy, comic timing and versatility are amazing. John Patrick is especially funny in the film noir version of the past fifty years. Alex Smith with his dimples, beard and red wig is a hilarious Lucy Ricardo. Corey Patrick's World War I sergeant is a riot. He's a wonderful dead-pan comedian.

Director Stephan Golux has staged this tour de farce extremely well and has solved the problems of playing the material in the round. The pace never flags, and he's added some current material to bring the history up to the present.

I don't want to give away any of the jokes, but I will say that any play that includes a pie in the face gets my vote. The history goes from Amerigo Vespucchi through Salem, the American Revolution, World Wars I and II, Korea and up to the present - with quite a few side trips. No sacred cow is left unmilked.

In today's divisive political climate, this is a good time to step back, relax and enjoy this irreverent and sometimes thought-provoking look at American History. Is it possible to reflect while giggling uncontrollably? It seems so.

On a scale of one to five the Vermont Stage production of THE COMPLETE HISTORY OF AMERICA (ABRIDGED) gets five ferry boats. For North Country Public Radio I'm Connie Meng.