Many of us may think we know Nero, the Roman emperor who may or may not have fiddled while Rome burned, who definitely had relatives and a wife or two killed, the barbarous, extravagant man who waged war and negotiated peace, burned Christians in order to provide light yet built theaters to provide entertainment. Amy Freed captures all of that weird excess and contradiction in her comedy “You, Nero” at Arena Stage. Yet for all Freed’s inclusion of murder and monstrosity, this is not a history play, and Freed’s Nero (Danny Scheie) doesn’t come across as the face of evil. That’s because of Freed’s blending of fact and fiction and the cheery persona she has given Nero, which is matched perfectly by Scheie’s giddy characterization, his impish vision of the emperor.
Scheie is a delightful comedian, and the part of this play that is pure Scheie — the part that comes from his private stock of double takes, deadpan stares and comedic style — couldn’t be better. But some of what Freed wrote for the rest of the cast sounds like familiar vaudeville routines or old television shows.
| Onstage |
| ‘You, Nero’ |
| Where: Arena Stage, 1101 Sixth St. SW |
| When: Through Jan. 1 |
| Info: $40 to $85; 202-488-3300; arenastage.org |
And there are elements that simply don’t work: At the beginning of the play, when spectators at an arena witness slaves fighting and bloody body parts fly up out of a pit in the center of the stage to represent the slaughter, it’s barely funny the first time. The second and third times, not so much.
Agrippina, Nero’s mother, is played by Nancy Robinette, who is matchless throughout. She sails in, as imposing as her foot-high coiffure, and tries to run Nero’s life. Jeff McCarthy plays a playwright, Scribonius, who is commissioned to write the story of Nero’s life. McCarthy deftly creates a real character in this massive caricature of Rome, as Scribonius tries to avoid writing anything offensive while creating Nero’s propaganda.
Laurence O’Dwyer and John Vennema make a hilarious pair of intelligent truth talkers, Burrus and Seneca, respectively. Director Nicholas Martin keeps the play moving at a lively pace.
James Noone’s set is a vast floor made of marble geometrical shapes. In the center of that floor, a trap door opens periodically to provide either the arena or to elevate one or two levels of mini-stages. Gabriel Berry has designed a wild assortment of costumes, from Nero’s colorful togas and robes to Agrippina’s imperial gowns.
“You, Nero” does have a subtle subtext about politics and the arts, if you’re willing to listen for it. If you love broad comedy, there’s a lot of it in “You, Nero.” And if you’re a big enough fan of Scheie and Robinette, you’ll notice that they almost make the taboo subjects of incest and matricide funny. Almost.
