The original Frankenstein movies came out in the 1930s; director James Whale had been dead for almost two decades when Brooks made his epic Young Frankenstein. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was gone almost five decades when The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes’ Smarter Brother was released in 1975. Blazing Saddles and Silent Movie satirized many genre movies. But in 1977, as Mel Brooks worked to develop High Anxiety, he was obligated to seek the blessing of a single living filmmaker, Alfred Hitchcock.
Pure Cinema, by playwright David Neipris, recreates three meetings between the two geniuses. It is hilarious and poignant, with oodles of fulfilling inside details. Bill Chott nails Hitchcock: the look, the voice, the carriage, the complex persona of an icon in decline. As Brooks, Aaron Caponigro is less on the nose, but conveys a certain Brooksiness. He starts out tending more toward youthful schtick, with flailing arms and puns. Over the course of their time together, though, he starts to tone it down, revealing the schtick as a method of coping with nerves at being face to face with the great man.
At that point called Nutso, High Anxiety was not embraced by Hitchcock. (That title didn’t help.) According to this believable, absorbing play, Hitchcock was welcoming but professorial, sharing excellent advice and personal stories in an attempt to convince Brooks to, well, tone down the schtick. For his part, Brooks, then 51, was confident enough in his own abilities to challenge the 78-year-old Hitchcock, yet respectfully open to his suggestions. The two hash out details such as the type of phobia the main character suffers from and whether Brooks himself had the gravitas to play the lead of a Vertigo homage—or would it be a spoof?
The interesting biographical material about both men is artistically woven through script without an ounce of fat—unlike Hitch’s diet (sting). While other plays frequently make their points through exposition, as characters awkwardly tell each other facts meant more to educate the audience than to move a story forward, Pure Cinema is a master class in authenticity.
A third character, the fictional Maya Jablonski (Lindsay Seim) acts as a moral guide to Hitch. Her personal connection to the Holocaust adds greatly to the conversation, including about Brooks’ The Producers. Jablonski is ruthlessly efficient in her dealings with her boss and his visitor; Seim excels as she shares wisdom and intelligent advice.
Matt Ritchey directs with a sure hand. The set and props, by Joyce Hutter, and art direction by Deborah Kuzma, are at the top end of what could be expected at the fast-moving Fringe. Especially impressive are the black-and-white elements, including the phone and a Psycho-referencing owl perched above Hitchcock’s desk. This is a class act, a show made with love and talent to honor two deserving filmmakers.
Brooks had Spaceballs-related negotiations with George Lucas, but watching a portrayal of Lucas wouldn’t be nearly as gratifying as the more public Hitchcock. Still, if Neipris and Chott tackle it, I’d eagerly show up.
There is only one sold-out performance of this great show at the Broadwater Black Box, 6322 Santa Monica Blvd.. For more information click here.
