Outdoor summer theater in Orange County, an already scant undertaking at high quality levels, was dealt a sobering blow in June when South Coast Repertory announced that its fourth season at the Mission San Juan Capistrano will end the collaboration.
SCR has expressed eagerness at continuing evening productions — five shows during the past four years — in the historic, open-air plaza. The Mission vaguely cited economic challenges and focusing on its museum activities as the reasons for the two OC cultural institutions parting ways.
As a result, SCR’s new mounting of “The Old Man and The Old Moon,” takes on an even sadder sense of an opportunity fallen short.
The work, a play with music, was created in 2012 by a multi-disciplinary troupe called PigPen Theatre Co. The group made its Broadway debut this year with another work, a well-received mounting of “Water for Elephants,” which received seven Tony nominations though no wins.
While this show, directed by SCR associate artistic director Kim Martin-Cotten, and with a homegrown production and cast, felt extremely well suited to the San Juan setting, a wobbly book proves to be the show’s undoing.
The fable of “The Old Man and The Old Moon” is based on a simple enough premise: the title character has been charged — unknown who assigned the task —with pouring liquid light into an ever-leaky moon, thus explaining the moon’s eternal sequence of waxing and waning.
The old guy’s longtime spouse has gotten bored by the torpor of their lives. She follows the sound of a mysterious song and departs to kick up her heels. The old man misses her and follows. Picaresque adventures ensue.
SCR’s run-up marketing targets the show for “swashbucklers and yarn-spinners ages 7 to 97,” but at either end of this age range, and in between, attendees are left a bit in the dark at the erratic randomness and inconsistent energies of events that spasmodically pile up.
With Jules Verne-ish oceans and deserts to cross, a war zone to avoid, a rickety boat and a careening airborne balloon — even a Jonah-and-the-whale stint inside a big fish — pell-mell adventure pacing would seem perfect to carry things along.
However, the story meanders to a crawl at times. For instance, among the crew on that rickety boat: there are 2-3 too many discussions of whether to head south or west … just go, already!
An underlying difficulty, too, is that the show operates on a mild, though not necessarily fatal illness which might be called “Ye-Olde-itis.”
A first ominous sighting: a male character wearing a kilt.
On opening night, before the start, a merry band — were any back-then-bands ever not merry? — of seven performers set the tone, traipsing the grounds through the audience. The singing, predictably, is delivered lustily.
As the play unspools, the rustic characters — aka, dimwitted simpletons, depending on your mood — speak in energetic Celtic cadences. It’s clear enough accenting, but also attention-enough getting over an intermission-free, 1 hour, 40 minutes to be a wee bit wearing.
There are other symptoms.
Actors’ choreographed movements invariably include plenty of bickering with hands firmly placed on hips. The cast sways in tightly clustered tandem during the rocky sea parts.
Nobody ever says “aaargh,” but the underlying vibe is it could happen at any moment.
SCR’s singing actors lean into the 10 or so spritely indie-folk compositions (violin, mandolin, percussion of various means amplifies a guitar-driven score). The songs were energetically and well performed.
Another creative quality is the determined homemade design elements which embellish most of the scenes.
In 2012, when the show was first staged in Manhattan, these low-tech touches might have had enough novelty to sprinkle pixie dust magic on the big city theatergoers.
But now, and here, it feels a bit old hat, small burnishings which don’t quite glimmer enough to cover up the storytelling weaknesses.
That said, there is enjoyment to be had in the moment watching SCR enjoy itself employing some small-scale tools.
A rippled deep blue sheet fills in for the deep blue ocean. A cooking pot becomes a quacking duck. Three flat hand-held cut-outs equal suitably menacing sharks.
And in a shaggy dog tale, the most endearing prop is puppet designer/fabricator Matt Cotten’s endearing mop-sourced shaggy dog.
Costume Designer Kish Finnegan serves up a cheerful thrift shop of rustic raggedy, with lovely little bespoke touches here and there.
Another excellent production element is SCR veteran Lonnie Rafael Alcaraz’ lighting scheme, consequential even under a sunny sky at the start, growing richer and more luminous as darkness came on.
As to visual effects, the real moon did not attend Friday’s opening. Waxing at 61% as a half-moon elsewhere, it chose not to arrive over San Juan Capistrano until 11:27 p.m.
Sitting under a dark sky, enjoying the mild evening with a sea breeze wafting, it was sad realizing that, no matter the quibbles with this outing, SCR’s outdoor summers in San Juan Capistrano have officially waned.
‘The Old Man and The Old Moon’
Rating: 2 1/2 (out of four)
Where: Mission San Juan Capistrano Central Courtyard, 26801 Ortega Highway, San Juan Capistrano
When: Regular performances through Sunday, Aug. 11; 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays-Sundays. No performance Tuesday, July 25.
Tickets: $40-$60
Information: 714-708-5555; scr.org