"Donogoo" at the Mint Theater Company (through July 27,2014)

The barometric evaluation treatment is administered to Lamandin (James Riordan) by Dr. Miguel Rufisque (George Morfogen) and his man servant (Vladimir Versailles).
(Photo: Richard Termine)

"Donogoo"  at the Mint Theater Company  (through July 27,2014)

Faster isn't always funnier but it could have helped propel the purposefully preposterous plot as well as the cleverly inane dialogue that give Jules Romains' 1930 French farce its raison d'etre.  Despite its shocking contemporary theme of buyer-beware, "Donogoo" is unfortunately not the lost dramatic find of the season. Yet it has much to recommend it.

It's all about one man's ability to sell the proverbial bridge rather than literally jump off of one as Lamendin (James Riordan) initially sets out to do. Influenced by a nutty geographer cum pseudo-scientist to initiate and orchestrate an outrageous business scheme/scam that involves bankers, investors and adventurers, Lamendin finds himself  leading the gullible and the greedy on an expedition to an uncharted city in the South American jungle, but mainly to a place that doesn't exist, well almost doesn't exist.

Before we get any more twisted up in the details of the plot, which I will likely omit in any case from further scrutiny, I want to praise the Mint for a physical production that is as arresting for its visuals than it is by the aggressively whimsical text or even the deft performances by a large cast, some in multiple roles. This is a play with twenty three scenes and if I read the program correctly that many different locations, all created by a delightfully dazzling array of colorful projections, as created by Roger Hanna and Price Johnston.

So what if the physical production gives a lift to a play that really isn't worth the effort, especially by the Mint Theater whose specialty is the unearthing of lost but worthy plays. Undaunted by the ascribed mise-en-scene, director Gus Kaikkonen (who also did the translation) has placed his splendid performers in a kind of graphic comic-book world – one, however, that is also filled with scarily funny resonances of  modern day investment chicanery.  

Following the misadventures of a madcap group of diverse but single-minded  characters as they are each seduced and sucked into a fraudulent scheme is amusing up to a point. The plot gets a little bogged down by the predictability factor, as do the one-dimensional characters slogging through it. And farce without the ability to sustain the funny factor is an inherent problem. But that, in itself, should not deter you.

One has to admire the Mint for reviving  the memory of Romain whose plays the French adored in the early 20th century and whose most excellent "Dr. Knock" was revived wonderfully by the Mint a few seasons back. "Donogoo" may not hit all its comical marks, but it is amusing to think as we trek deeper into the jungle how the investment world continues to be impacted by the unscrupulous as well as attract the unwary. Despite my quibbles, the adventurous theatergoer would do well to pay a visit to the Mint, as the rewards of this enterprising production outweigh its flaws, including that title.

"Donogoo"

For tickets ($55.00) to the Mint Theater at 311 West 43rd Street, go to  www.minttheater.org