When the title character in “Volpone, or the Fox” wakes up, his first impulse is to fondle his beloved gold and praise its glories:
“Thou being the best of things, and far transcending/All style of joy in children, parents, friends,/Or any other waking dream on earth.”
Barely a minute has gone by, and we know that this guy loves his treasure as much as Gollum loves his. And like Gollum, Volpone and his servant/accomplice Mosca — the head charlatans of Ben Jonson’s play — are ruthless about it.
It’s surprising we don’t see this witty piece more often, with its caustic view of greed as both amoral and foolish. It was written in 1606, and yet the plot is so timeless that Larry Gelbart transferred it to post-Gold Rush San Francisco for his hit Broadway adaptation “Sly Fox.”
Unfortunately, Jesse Berger’s tepid production for the Red Bull company isn’t going to do much for the original. Berger has delivered vivid, pulse-quickening dramas in the past (“The Revenger’s Tragedy,” “The Maids”), but this comedy is flat-footed and tin-eared. Only Tovah Feldshuh shows she gets the material. Whenever this formidable diva swoops in — for too-short scenes as the imperious Fine Madam Would-Be — the energy onstage is multiplied by 10.
This is all very frustrating since the play, set in Venice, is a godsend for resourceful directors: Not only is the script loaded with schemes and shenanigans, but all the characters are named after animals. It’s a bloody jungle out there, Jonson seems to say.
Accordingly, Volpone (a miscast Stephen Spinella, from “Angels in America”) is as cunning as a fox, while Mosca (Cameron Folmar) buzzes about like his namesake fly.
The two set out to fleece local fat cats, who are led to believe that bestowing lavish gifts onto Volpone will earn them a spot on his will. Predatory, vain and stupid in equal measures, Voltore the vulture (Rocco Sisto), Corbaccio the crow (Alvin Epstein) and Corvino the raven (Michael Mastro) take the bait.
Like all Red Bull shows, this one looks terrific. Clint Ramos’ sensational costumes suggest stylized versions of the various beasts without falling into cuteness. The only misstep is Volpone’s outfit: Poor Spinella spends most of the show in an ugly union suit with a padded crotch pouch that makes him look like an overgrown child.
This is just part of the inexplicable decision to defang Volpone. This guy’s a schemer and a seducer, yet here he has neither edge nor heat. The intricate power relationship between Volpone and Folmar’s charmless Mosca never comes into focus.
Too bad Feldshuh can’t play every role.