THEATER REVIEW : Seaworthy Cast Mans ‘Roberts’

NEWPORT BEACH —  If Navy Cargo Ship AK601 doesn’t look too seaworthy in Newport Theatre Arts Center’s production of “Mr. Roberts,” it certainly acts as though it is.

Lt. (JG) Douglas Roberts, Ensign Frank Pulver and that most irascible bundle of jangled paranoia, the Captain, have in the half century since the play was written become icons for the good humor that once could arise out of being in the armed forces. But that was World War II, the last of its kind.

Director Phyllis Gitlin knows where that humor is in the Thomas Heggen-Joshua Logan script, and the naive masculine jocularity that was the pseudo-machismo of the time. She also knows where the emotional power is, and how to brake her brisk tempos ever so slightly when required.

The slight story, about getting even with the Captain through his treasured potted palm, depends for its effect on the muscularity of the comic elements. Gitlin flexes those muscles with little effort.

If Michael Prohaska is sometimes a little too likable as the Captain, that’s fine. It gives the character an added dimension.

But the nuts and bolts of the action are provided by Rick Watson as Roberts and Mark Zufelt as Pulver.

Watson has a gentle comic touch that’s just right for the man who really keeps the ship running, in spite of the Captain, and a warmth that gives reason for the crew’s affection. In spite of a slight tendency toward manic physical business, Zufelt is funny and endearing as the junior officer with a libido of questionable veracity and an inventive genius that belies his lovable denseness.

Tom Hardy is a resigned voice of reason as Doc, the balancing wheel in the rocky relationship between the Captain and crew, a sensitive and ingratiating performance. The crew itself is somewhat uneven in performance, although generally they seem to light up when Philip Lance, as Dolan, is guiding the scene. Lance has energy and a sharp comic flair.

When the AK601 doesn’t look seaworthy is when scenic designer William Cole’s gauze walls wave as the actors pass.

Nor does the crew look very authentic when dressed in their whites for shore leave. The uniforms, by costumer Tom Phillips, fit like Mary Martin’s in “South Pacific,” so baggy and misshapen no self-respecting sailor would be seen dead in them.

The crew’s fatigues and the officers uniforms are more on the nose, but the crew whites are as unfortunate as the strange melody with which the actors grace that serviceman’s standard, “Roll Me Over.”

* “Mr. Roberts,” Newport Theatre Arts Center, 2501 Cliff Drive, Newport Beach. Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m., Sundays, 2:30 p.m. Ends Oct. 17. $15. (714) 631-0288. Running time: 2 hours, 30 minutes.

Rick Watson: Lieutenant (JG) Roberts

Mark Zufelt: Ensign Pulver

Tom Hardy: Doc

Michael Prohaska: The Captain

Philip Lance: Dolan

A Newport Theatre Arts Center production of the comedy by Thomas Heggen and Joshua Logan. Directed by Phyllis Gitlin. Produced by Terri Miller Schmidt. Setting: William Cole. Lights: Jane Phillips Hobson. Costumes: Tom Phillips. Sound: Bob Ashby.