My overall impression
I’d heard great buzz during the Fringe and was happy ‘Devil’ got extended, but I had no idea what a tour de force of a performance I was in for. From the totally funky and appropriate music by Hank Doughan, Kevin Katich, and Carlos Flores (who made his guitar sound like a dozen different studio sessions) to Ruth Fox’s fun dancing and support, and finally to Aaron Lyons’ fantastical acting as da debbil, a sleazo agent, and Billy Markham, himself—this was some of the best theater I’ve seen. 3 of Clubs beer-stained, naugahyde back room was the perfect setting for this brilliant, filthy, epic tale penned by Shel Silverstein with help from David Mamet.
Lyons was so good, so fun to watch, so totally enmeshed as a performer in this mythic tale, that after the show I popped on my iphone and read Lyons’ statement in LA Stage Times to get some perspective on how this piece came about. I’d love to watch some rehearsal video to see how director Amanda McCraven got such spirited work out of Lyons.
The night we saw it in Extension it was an undeservedly small house. (Hey, it’s August.) But the size of the audience phased no one in the Zenith mob. The musicians set the divey satanic tone, and Lyons roared to the fore with in-your-face acting that was not only effective but transporting. I always wonder what the effect will be upon an audience when an actor breaks the fourth wall and eyeballs audience members. Lyons did it like a magician pulls pigeons from his hat. I’d say ‘effortlessly,’ but that wouldn’t be accurate, because Lyons poured forth so much effort and sass and rhythm and charm, that we got a performance worth so much more than any of us could have imagined. Bravo. Can’t wait to see what Zenith Ensemble comes up with next.
