Chris Weikel's new play Penny Penniworth is one of the most professional and enjoyable shows I've seen in seven years of Fringe productions. Chocked full of archetypal characters from classical English novels Penny is described as "Dickens' lost epic." The story follows a bright young woman "known to all the world as Penny Penniworth " as she struggles to make her way in nineteenth century England. The near flawless script is lined with Weikel's wicked and uproarious humor. The cast, each of whom play a variety of characters, is comprised of Christopher Borg, Igor Goldin, Jamie Heinlein and Ellen Reilly. These delightful and masterful actors have perfected their performances and turn from one fully realized and distinct character to another in the blink of an eye. Under the skilled direction of Mark Finley, the play weaves its way effortlessly through the plot's hairpin curves to its climatic and most satisfying ending. In my opinion, Penny Penniworth is a rare find and could very well be the must see show of the 2003 Fringe. Not to mention that it is playing in the air-conditioned Linhart Theatre. (Eunice Marquet, Curtain Up - August 13, 2003)
Chris Weikel's Penny Penniworth is full of clever word play and Dickensian plot twists. Set in Victorian England, this supposedly "lost" epic by Charles Dickens tells the story of young Penny Penniworth (Jamie Heinlein), whose childhood love Hochkiss Spit (Christopher Borg) is driven out of town after nearly killing the wealthy Rupert Stryfe (Igor Goldin). Years later, Penny finds herself penniless, and enters into the service of Miss Havasnort (Ellen Reilly). There's more to the story, of course, but it's not so much the plot as the way the tale is performed that gives this production its power.
The four-person ensemble creates an entire world full of colorful characters, with each actor playing multiple parts. Borg's Hochkiss is a comic highlight, speaking in a hilariously impenetrable brogue. The versatile actor is equally adept as Penny's mother. Reilly's Miss Havasnort is portrayed in a dry, deadpan manner that produces gales of laughter from the audience. Heinlein has plenty of pluck as Penny and doubles as the hunchbacked Malodorous Dump, which is taken to absurd proportions when Penny and Dump have to play a scene together.
The cast functions as both narrators and characters, deftly switching back and forth from one to the other. Crisply directed by Mark Finley, the play clocks in at under an hour but is far more entertaining than many shows double its length. (Dan Bacalzo - TheaterMania.com - August 12, 2003)
There aren't enough adjectives to describe Chris Weikel's delightful Penny Penniworth, A Story of Great Good Fortune, one of the sharpest, funniest and best-acted plays in this year's Fringe Festival. Directed with speedy alacrity by Mark Finley, Penny is the 'lost' epic of Charles Dickens as mounted by a short-staffed theatre troupe with Royal Shakespeare Company aspirations. So short-staffed are they, in fact, that only four actors play all the roles. Luckily, those actors are Jamie Heinlein, Christopher Borg, Ellen Reilly and Igor Goldin (all reunited from Penny's debut at EAT and as part of TOSOS II's Tales Told last year)' and they're absolutely sensational. Playing multiple gender-bending roles with skillful dexterity and unbridled enthusiasm, they're a joy to watch as they skewer literary cliches, acting styles and Masterpiece Theatre itself in this labyrinthine romp through Victorian England. If ever Merchant & Ivory longed to make a tongue-in-cheek film lampooning their own opulent story-telling abilities, an expanded Penny Penniworth would be the ideal property. (David Hurst - NEXT Magazine, August 29, 2003)
Imagine if FringeNYC shows were listed in the personals. "Uproarious, but exceedingly articulate comedy seeks audience who appreciates all things literary, theatrical, and farcical. Well-tuned literary sensibility a plus, but not essential to enjoy the 'eccentricities of genius' which abound. You: a fan of brilliant writing, extraordinary acting, and impeccable staging. Me: an irresistible gambol combining 19th-century literary allusions with broad physical comedy and cheeky social satire. Let's have 'the best of times,' not the 'worst of times' together."
What a package! And where is this little gem listed? Well, since this is TOSOS II Theatre Company, under: "Men Seeking Women," "Women Seeking Men," "Men Seeking Men," and "Women Seeking Women." Of course.
Are you swooning yet? If so, then book a date with the dazzling Penny Penniworth. Chris Weikel's thoroughly original tale is a parody of such exquisite detail that one must check the program to ensure it isn't an actual Dickens adaptation. Through thwarted romance, descent into penury (the family manor is descending too-into a bog), and melodramatic reversals of fortune, Penny's eponymous plight gleefully exploits every novelistic convention while featuring an assortment of vivid characters whose names alone prompt giggles. The poor but honorable Hochkiss Spit (Christopher Borg), the corpse-obsessed Miss Havasnort (Ellen Reilly), and the hunch-backed cockney Malodorous Dump (Jamie Heinlein) are but a few.
Now add TOSOS' own unique touch: naughty double entendres that Mr. D. would have blushed to pen, impish inside jokes that generously include the audience in the winking-and-nudging, and a thoroughly modern approach to gender role reversal that never seems anachronistic.
The cast of four impressively delineates each character only by their outstanding command of accents and physicalities, and their glittering comic timing makes the most of the many sly puns and arch references. Structuring it all is Mark Finley's pitch-perfect staging, modulating the mayhem from the subtlest aside to the most blatantly roguish sight-gag.
All in all, this production is a rare and vigorous example of why we still need live theatre in this MTV age. It's no discredit to Weikel's script that a celluloid version would never be as transporting as the vital, three-dimensional miracle this production conjures. It's beyond literal, it's theatrical-in the purest, most "literal" sense of the term.
Hmm. all this and a sense of humor too. No wonder I'm in love. (Terri Galvin - NYTheatre.com, August 17, 2003)