The Devil and Billy Markham: great script but needs a bit more hellish life
The Devil and Billy Markham has been around for quite some time and I was happy to see that it was being done again at the Vancouver Fringe. I hadn't seen it performed live before (except a few video snippets here and there online) but I can say for certain that this performance wasn't the greatest but it wasn't bad either. It was "just good". I wasn't expecting Shakespeare or Faust but I felt something was missing. The Devil and Billy Markham is a show about a down and out know-it-all hard-drinker type who wants to make it on the music scene. While he is sitting around in a crappy bar the Devil walks in and asks (or demands) that someone play dice with him. The price is only a mere soul, so, how hard would that be? Billy plays and, of course, loses. This starts a long story about his descent into Hell and how he and the Devil continually battle it out for who is smarter, wittier, and more powerful. I won't get into too many details about the show (if you haven't a clue what it is about) but I do recommend checking it out regardless of my commentary. The performer does a decent job but I felt he needed more edge. The lack of committement to the show could have been a directorial choice or the actor may have been tired. It doesn't really matter but the performance lacked energy.
So, why would you go to this show if you think my words have merit? The main problem, I think, is we have a work of art that has been done a hundred different ways. It has been around the Fringe circuit for decades. Why? Because the script rocks harder than KISS in the 1970s. The characters in this piece have great line after great line, the scenes are full of great description, and the action in the show is an animated wonder. But, maybe, it is time to kick it up a notch, even for Fringe standards. As I was pondering what I would say in this review, someone asked me what I meant by "more". I put on my directing hat (such as it is) and started rambling about how the mythology being teased in the work was being disrespected. What I think the performance needed was more animation from the actor and he needed to "work it" harder.
It needed more "oopmf" of ownership.
It required a bit more ass-slap for mythology.
I wanted it to be an Oscar performance where the actor riding the Devil forces the audience to feel his level of committment with each, squishy plunge.
Why? Because we're not witnessing the story of a hooker and her rich boyfriend and how they get together, fight off the stupid lawyer friend, and then ride away in a limo. We're watching a show (albeit funny as Hell) about the source of all Evil fuck around with some guy who played a simple game of dice. We then get to see the Devil (literally) getting fucked in the end. The Devil! God! You've got a whole shooting match of Biblical proportions in this work. We're talking about powers that have been around since Creation, if you believe in that sort of thing.
But the reality is, we don't have a bad performance. I think I may just have higher expectations. Kind of like that guy who watches the Lord of the Rings and realizes only half way through the first movie: "What the hell happened to Tom Bombidil?" Yah. I was that guy. I wanted the Tom Bombidil performance. I wanted the Stallone and Meredith performance from the first movie. I wanted it all and didn't get it. I wanted the world to see how great the piece can be. And for full disclosure, I used to own a copy of the Playboy magazine issue that featured the original publication of The Devil and Billy Markham. I guess I am just picky.
So, what should you do? Go see the damn show or you'll get nailed to a wall of sulphur. You won't be disappointed because it is well done. You'll laugh. You'll snicker and you'll see the Devil do his thing.