Saint and scholar

Nevada Conservatory Theatre's portrayal of Sir Thomas More offers warmth and wit

BY KELLE SCHILLACI

Charles O'Connor, executive director of the Nevada Conservatory Theatre, opened his company's latest production by making some pretty hefty pre-show promises regarding the caliber of the Las Vegas theater scene, saying that soon enough we'll rank right up there with New York or San Francisco.

Hmm. I think I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Still, while not exactly avant-garde, the production of A Man for All Seasons displayed definite signs of greatness, from the well-designed set and elaborate costuming, to the cast of visiting Equity actors and Las Vegas stage regulars who told the life story of Sir Thomas More with lots of heart and surprising humor.

The play, written by Robert Bolt (most famous for his Lawrence of Arabia and Dr. Zhivago film adaptations, the latter scoring him his first Oscar), follows More, Britain's lord chancellor in the time of King Henry VIII. Quick history lesson: Henry is the dude who married his brother's widow, Catherine (oops, barren!), and then, after an annulment request to the Pope failed, led Britain in ditching the Catholic Church and creating the Church of England. Officers were required to sign an oath to acknowledge the king's new (fertile!) queen, Anne Boleyn. And not everyone lived happily ever after.

In opposing the plan and refusing the oath, More lands not only in England's famed Tower -- but also in history books as the iconographic symbol of integrity, as shown in one man's refusal to sacrifice his ideals in response to tyrannical social pressure (something to consider while living in an era when conscientious objectors are so quickly labeled "unpatriotic").

It's definitely a history lesson, heavy on treason and betrayal, but Bolt's clever script, combined with the direction of Robert Brewer (who directed Proof in the fall), results in a smart and often witty character drama, introducing us to More as a man, rather than as some inflated metaphor. He's still the heroic martyr, but actor James Sutorius makes him so darn likable in, like, a human way.

Given its 16th-century roots, the tale has a Shakespearean air (sans bad British accents), and begins with a fool. Played by G.W. Bailey, the servant's wit and insight is often much smarter than that of his masters. He cracks jokes, introduces the characters and observes their follies with audience-aimed commentary while changing the set between scenes. Bailey (who you might recognize as Private Rizzo on TV's "M*A*S*H*" and as the drill instructor in the Police Academy movies), is really in his element here, hilariously shifting roles from servant to sailor to prison guard to jury foreman.

Sutorius, a seriously credentialed stage and TV actor, nails the soft-spoken warmth, wit and logic of More. The best scenes were those in which he gives father-style grief to his daughter's heretic boyfriend, and when he stands fervently before his nemeses, craftily stating his case. In these scenes, the line between actor and character disappears, which is the best you can hope for in theater.

Moments when Sutorius broke into more emotionally wrought speeches felt less authentic, especially when coupled with a few poorly staged moments of forced hysteria from the NCT actresses playing his wife (Joan Mullaney) and daughter (Melanie Ash). It's not that the highly charged moments weren't deserving of emotional outburst; it's just that they didn't quite coalesce.

The mostly off-stage king makes a brief and fumbling appearance, played with affable silliness by Phil Hubbard in a scene that has him intellectually sparring (and losing) with More's daughter Margaret, and -- with obvious pain -- responding to More's "betrayal" in refusing the oath. Steve Rapella plays the villainous Thomas Cromwell (receiving a good-natured curtain-call boo and hiss from the crowd), and Jeffrey Koep -- dean of UNLV's College of Fine Arts -- plays the similarly menacing Cardinal Wolsey.

Costume designer Kelly James-Penot clearly ditched a fair share of classes in favor of Renaissance fairs: The women spin like bells in elaborate dresses, while More's lush robes give way to worn out prison garb. Scene designer Jeff Fiala created a sleek yet deceptively twisty maze of (somewhat underused) staircases, while the subliminal images projected onto a background scrim were a bit more hit-and-miss.

Final verdict? You won't need Cliffs-Notes to enjoy this history lesson, so long as you've got a healthy attention span.

,b>A Man for All Seasons

Nevada Conservatory Theatre

UNLV Judy Bayley Theatre

4505 Maryland Parkway

702-895-ARTS

Through Feb. 20

$25; $20 seniors; free for UNLV students with ID