Lite, Predictable “Into the Breeches!” Mostly Succeeds on Its Own Terms

It’s 1942, and with so many of our boys off fighting the Axis powers, the Oberon Playhouse is shuttered, precluding one of their most ambitious productions ever: a four-hour version of Henrys IV and V. But the wife of the Oberon’s absent artistic director thinks an all-women cast is just the ticket to keep the home fires burning.

Tack on its groanworthy-yet-apt title, and you know exactly what to expect from Into the Breeches! But predictable as it is, playwright George Brant’s competence combines with Brian Shnipper’s steady leadership of his solid cast to yield a satisfying lite entertainment.

Hilarious? No, but there are laughs, and the cast sells them all without overselling. The standout here is Leslie Stevens as Celeste, the Oberon’s resident prima donna. Just as she did a few months ago for a smaller role in Musical Theatre West’s An American in Paris, from the moment she hits the stage Stevens is everything Into the Breeches! needs her to be, smoothly squeezing every bit of humor from every line she gets. Overall, when the jokes don’t work, it’s Brant’s fault and no-one else’s. The presentation is good enough that even low-hanging fruit like codpiece jokes are good for a few yuks.

Although Brant occasionally misfires when aiming for substance (e.g., during a discussion about the conservative Oberon turning progressive: “Forward thinking. What’s wrong with the now?” “It’s forward thinking that gets us there”), he delivers the necessary feels to make any comedy this side of slapstick work. As the play-within-a-play’s director, Meghan Andrews ably carries the lion’s share of this load.

If Into the Breeches! gets anything exactly right, it’s pacing. Brant wastes no time charting our course and getting us on the road, and director Shnipper never rushes through nor lingers too long. That’s important in any play, but never more so than with a work that doesn’t have enough mass to generate a deeper (intellectual, emotional) momentum. 

Let’s not kid ourselves: you’re not going to remember much about Into the Breeches! next year — or even next month. But that doesn’t mean you won’t enjoy it while it’s here. 

Into the Breeches! at International City Theatre
Times: Thurs-Sat 8:00 p.m. and Sun 2:00 p.m.
The show runs through June 25
Cost: $49-$52
Details: (562) 436-4610, ICTLongBeach.org
Venue: Beverly O’Neill Theatre, 300 E. Ocean Blvd., Long Beach