Review: ACT's 'Das Barbecü' tells a tale, hits the nail

     All photos by Chris Bennion.

Take the epic Wagnerian operatic series The Ring Cycle (opening tonight at Macaw Hall), turn it into a fun-filled country western musical and, hot damn, you have Das Barbecü. Amazingly, the production, which runs through Sept. 6, at ACT’s Falls Theatre, not only works, but is incredibly funny!

Written by Jim Luigs and directed and choreographed by Stephen Terrell, Das Barbecü, is a comic adaptation of the profoundly intense, complex – and truly bizarre – ancient myth that comprises The Ring Cycle. Instead of The Ring’s Teutonic Rhineland, Das Barbecü takes place in the Texas heartlands (also home to many a tall tale). The musical features a terrific ensemble cast and plenty of Texas twang, down-home humor, delightfully infectious toe-tapping country music (written by Scott Warrener, with lyrics by Luigs) – and, of course, a barbecue.

The story centers around a magical gold ring stolen by an evil dwarf from Rhine River water maidens. The theft sets off a series of misfortunes to two (most peculiar) family lineages before the ring is finally returned to the Rhinemaidens by one of the mythical heroines, Brünnhilde. (Since a full synopsis of the storyline and characters would take too long, this review will focus on some of the production highlights.)

The musical’s cast of five highly talented actors – Anne Allgood, Carter Davis, Jennifer Sue Johnson, Billie Wildrick and Richard Ziman – brilliantly act, sing and dance their way through a hilarious array of characters (over 20 in all) and situations. Kuddos also to David Zinn, for outstanding scenery and costume design for a small stage.

The show begins with the full company – all five of them – clad in red-white-and-blue cowboy/cowgirl regalia (hats, boots, stars and tassled vests) singing “A Ring of Gold in Texas,” which offers a brief, utterly exhausting, though thoroughly entertaining, overview of the entire who’s who and who-does-what-to-whom story of The Ring.

As the story unfolds, we meet a slew of unusual and always amusing characters, including the precocious Norn Triplets (Davis, Johnson, Wildrick) dressed in lacy white corsets singing “Hog-Tie Your Man.” (Davis, a male, is especially beguiling.)

Nedda Trout, Milam Lamar and Gutrune (Allgood, Davis, Johnson) provide a few “pearls of wisdom” in “Makin’ Guacamole,” reminding us that most of life is “just makin’ guacamole and gettin’ through the day.”

In Act Two, we meet Freia (Johnson) who, though just a sidebar to the main story, is being held captive by building giants (as opposed to the opera's real giants). Freia sits in the middle of the stage on an over-sized swing with flowering-vines and enchantingly extols the generosity of her captors in “A Little House for Me,” as her devoted builders (Davis, Ziman) happily assemble a charming, though small, pink house with white trim, complete with window flowers.

Especially memorable is the duo by Brünnhilde (Wildrick) and Gutrune (Johnson), whose double-wedding goes terribly wrong, leaving them alone together at the wedding barbecue. The pair give new meaning to the term “comfort food” as they manage to devour the entire spread – roasted pig, baked beans, cornbread, and all – as they vocally lament their misfortune in “Barbecue for Two.”

We also meet the three synchronized swimmers (Allgood, Johnson, Wildrick), counterparts to the Rhinemaidens of The Ring, who woefully sing and sneeze their way through “After the Gold is Gone.” (Their use of mannequin legs for above-water leg formations is a hoot!)

The show culminates as Brünnhilde’s lover, Siegfried (Davis) – who had the ring – is murdered by the evil dwarf’s son Hagen (Ziman) in an attempt to reclaim the ring. But his dastardly deed is in vain, since Siegfried gave the ring to Brünnhilde. Brünnhilde’s parents, Wotan (Ziman) and Erda (Allgood), implore her in “Turn the Tide” to restore the natural order of things by returning the ring to the river. Brünnhilde follows her parent’s advice, but not before the town is torched and then flooded. But, alas, in the end. all is set right and order is restored.

Das Barbecü was originally commissioned by Seattle Opera in 1991, to provide a more light-hearted companion piece that might attract new audiences to The Ring Series masterpiece. While it will undoubtedly achieve this goal, it is a thoroughly engaging stand-alone piece, full of wit and charm and easily a match to popular larger-scale musical productions.

Tickets are available online, by phone at 206.292.7676, or at the ACT Theatre Ticket Office at 700 Union Street in Seattle. Ticket prices range from $10 to $37.50 For more information visit the ACT website.