WEBmikey: American-Statesman Review

Latest Flickr

Latest Twitter


American-Statesman Review
7.21.2001 7:20 PM \| Link 0 comments	The story may sound odd, but 'Le Petomane' is a gas June 18, 2001 "Le Petomane: Anatomy of a Fartiste" is a strange, whimsical, musical romp through the life of a most unusual man. Joseph Pujol had a talent for, well, musical flatulence. He left his family and his job as a baker in Marseilles for Paris and the Moulin Rouge where he became one of the most popular performers during the last years of the 19th century. After presenting an abridged version of "Le Petomane" earlier this year at FronteraFest, David Yeakle, artistic director of Tongue and Groove Theatre, unveils his full-length, two-act version at the Vortex Theatre. Replete with cancan girls, mustachioed emcees and a crack Django Rhinehart-style quartet (which also provides the necessary sound effects), and with the cast sporting period attire and goofy French accents, this eccentric show is nothing if not entertaining. With music by Yeakle, Ian Case, Jonathan Hoyle, Art Davis and Mark Stewart, "Le Petomane" loosely follows Pujol's life from anonymous baker to celebrity. Appropriately, Yeakle laces the tale with plenty of anachronisms, incongruities and spoofs. In one of the first all-ensemble numbers, the music switches suddenly from melodic music-hall jazz to something distinctly contemporary and the cast begins to rock out. And in the seemingly sentimental number "Are You on Your Way?" singers hang on to one note at the end of a phrase, effectively spoofing the maudlin song about Pujol's conflicting feelings of homesickness and ambition. Robert Pierson plays the affable and resolute Pujol, who feels it's his destiny to perform, with a good sense of presence. Mark Stewart does a great comic turn as the weird and almost unearthly sometime-narrator, X. This is by no means a slick production. Some of the singing was not great; a few actors weren't able to hold a pitch or project sufficiently over the band. Still, "Le Petomane" is fun. It's an odd little musical that's a gas. Labels: memories Comments Post a Comment