Joe Orton’s “Loot”: For Farce Fans Only

By Greggory Moore, Columnist

Typically, if a play has “a farce” attached to it as a sort of subtitle — as is the case with Long Beach Playhouse’s production of Joe Orton’s Loot — I’ll avoid it. Facial elements, okay. But as a genre? Pass.

But Joe Orton, Joe Orton…why do I know that name? Didn’t I read one of his plays as an undergrad? (Yes, What the Butler Saw — no recollection.) Oh, and didn’t Gary Oldman play him in a film I saw way back when? (Prick Up Your Ears — no recollection.) Maybe I should give this one a shot so at least I can stop going, “Joe Orton, Joe Orton…why do I know that name?”

Well, I was warned: Loot is a farce through and through. But if you have a taste for that sort of thing, Long Beach Playhouse is serving up a dish that should go down easy.

Mrs. McLeavy has just died, her body lying in a coffin in the family home. As they await the hearse that will bring her to her final resting place, bereaved Mr. McLeavy (Rick Reischman) is comforted by Fay (Roxy Payne), who’s hanging around despite the completion of her nursing duties. She’s got designs on McLeavy’s money, you see; it’s a road she’s been down before. But her machinations are interrupted by her would-be stepson, Hal (Jack Loeprich), who is curiously amused by a newspaper account of an overnight bank robbery that occurred next door to the funeral parlor owned by the family of his pal Dennis (Ronan Walsh). But with the arrival of Inspector Truscott (Noah Wagner) from the “Water Department” (wink wink), the jigs may be up.

While Loot still qualifies as irreverent — Orton’s got the hypocrisies of family, religion, and law enforcement in his crosshairs and has all guns blazing from start to finish — what may have seemed shocking in mid-’60s England is old hat today. But that’s a separate question from whether it’s any fun — the play’s main point then and now. 

The answer to that comes down to whether you like your comedy quasi-absurdist, sans depth or subtlety, and coming so fast and furious that often every line is a joke. If you do, director Allen Sewell has a cast capable of batting around the ping-pongish dialog competently — and the rhythm here is half the battle. But the biggest laughs probably come from Roxy Payne’s reactions (facial gestures, body movements — she gives good shrug). Maybe Sewell has her draw from this well a bit too often, but it’s easy to see why.

There’s not much to Loot, so there’s not much to say. There are plays one might refer to as “farce” that transcend the genre; Loot ain’t that. But if this sort of thing tickles your fancy, Long Beach Playhouse can probably give you a fun night out.

Loot at Long Beach Playhouse
Times: Fri–Sat 8:00 p.m., Sun 2:00 p.m.
The show runs through July 6.
Cost: $20 to $30
Details: (562) 494-1014; LBplayhouse.org 
Venue: Long Beach Playhouse, 5021 E. Anaheim St., Long Beach