`Abducting Diana'

Through April 29

TinFish Theatre, 4247 N. Lincoln

Tickets, $15. (773) 549-1888

Somewhat recommended

In the political farces of Italian playwright Dario Fo, broadcomedy and lewd jokes are employed for the greater good to mock thosein power. In "Abducting Diana," the Fourth Estate bears the brunt ofthe gibes.

It's a target that Chicago audiences seem to appreciate. Whilebarbs about the rich and ruling classes fall flat in the TinFishproduction of "Abducting Diana," ridicule of the media is wellserved.

In this Americanized version of Fo's play (using StephenStenning's adaptation for the British stage) media baroness DianaForbes-McKaye is kidnapped by a bungling trio of captors disguised inpoliticians' party masks.

Director Kerstin Broockmann puts on a tight show. The delivery oflines and pace of the physical humor is rapid-fire. "Abducting Diana"unfolds as if Abbott and Costello had stopped by Starbucks for a mega-java before bantering about baseball. The few fumbled lines areeasily overlooked as the audience is drawn into the silliness.

As the bumbling kidnappers' vixen victim, Karen Foley is apowerhouse. With her hair done up like devil's horns, the actressblazes around the stage_first as a safety-conscious seductress andthen as the harried abductee who quickly determines she is more adeptat crime than her captors.

Fortunately, Ed Dzialo provides a solid match for Foley's fierystage presence. As the hapless Kidnapper No. 2, easily the mostidiotic of the bunch, Dzialo holds his own, even from the fridge thatserves as his home for much of the play's second act. (Yes, thebizarre plot takes farce to an absurd level.)

The other characters are entertaining, if underdeveloped. AbdulMalik's Kevin is overly dim, while Joseph Lutz's Chief Kidnapper isunconvincing as the self-appointed brains behind the outfit. KevinKenneally's Kidnapper No. 3 makes the bloodthirsty seem boring.

Despite moments of comic flair (such as the "Charlie's Angels"allusion), "Abducting Diana" tries to be too ambitious. A trick setpiece crucial to the climax would be more effective if not operatedby a stagehand waving to the house.

The play also is hindered by too much stage business, poor costumechoices (a really obvious disguise) and poorly played pantomime andcommedia dell'arte elements. Though the humor is obvious, it wouldwork even better if presented with consistency.