Is He Dead?
at Mater Dei High School

Reviewed on February 21, 2015

Erin Bola
Fountain Valley High School
Submitted for publication to Orange County Register

Mater Dei Paints a Humourous "Is He Dead?"

In the cruel world of a struggling artist, one must die before they can ever achieve any amount of fame and fortune. In Mater Dei's production of Mark Twain's "Is He Dead?", the French painter Jean-Francois Millet's desperate plan to fake his own death to pay off his debts is hilariously enacted through the use of the melodramatic acting style of commedia dell'arte and a charming cast of vibrantly unique characters.

Phillip Venti stars as Jean-Francois Millet, a talented French artist driven to staging his own demise in order to boost the value of his paintings. Venti expertly conquers the challenge of contrasting between the frazzled Millet and his disguise as his peculiar twin sister, Madame Tillou. His discomfort in his feminine guise is precisely captured through his awkward shuffle, shrill voice, and constant fidgeting with his exceptionally pink wig. As the play progresses, however, he slowly begins to grow confident with his new identity, as he faces suspicion over the mysterious circumstances of Millet's death and even becomes the unlikely object of affection for two other men.

Millet's charismatic friends Chicago and O'Shaughnessy, played by Matthew Moore and Vincente Saintingnon respectively, offer an abundance of hilarity to the show through their charismatic banter, lively and exaggerated facial expressions, and energetic jumps and dashing around stage. Saintingnon's particularly notable Irish accent and confident stride accurately paint the portrait of the stereotypical Irishman.

As the emotional and dramatic Marie Leroux, McCallister Selva demands attention as she twirls, skips, and dances across the stage, smiling and sighing as she goes. Selva clearly demonstrates her character's unyielding love for Millet when she delicately swoons in his arms and pecks at his cheeks. At the news of his supposed death, Selva exhibits her solemn side as she weeps inconsolably and flings herself into the arms of the strangely familiar Madame Tillou in search of solace.

The makeup design by Kat Delaney paints a cartoon-like picture of France with towering powdered wigs, stark white foundation, and vibrant lip colors. Stage management by Austin Kendrick and Kelly Bird highlight the comical aspects of the show by spotlighting Millet's most prized painting, the Angelus, every time it is mentioned, as well as whenever a character offers an aside to the audience.

Mater Dei's "Is He Dead?" dazzles audiences with charm and hilarity that would impress even Mark Twain himself.

Maria Harfouche
Tri-School Theatre
Submitted for publication to Orange County Register

Mater Dei Brings "Is He Dead?" to Life

Mater Dei High School's production of "Is He Dead?" is a comedic play written by Mark Twain. This play provides a fun and satirical look at the life of artist, Jean Francois Millet, whose friends help him fake his own death in order to boost the value of his art. This somewhat simple idea is complicated after Millet's friends decide to create him a big, pink-wigged, woman alter ego named Widow Tillou and shenanigans ensue.

The wonderful Phillip Venti, who plays both Millet and Widow Tillou, leads this show's eccentric cast. Venti's magic comes in the role of Widow Tillou. He uniquely portrays the feminine sides of the Widow, but never breaks the feeling that Millet (a man) is struggling to convince everyone that he is this largely animated Widow. Venti's portrayal of a man playing a woman is so funny and boisterous that it's hard to take your eyes off of him/her.

Jourdan Dam portrays Charlie whose character has to play the piano throughout the show. Dam does so beautifully, but also comically by giving each character or line in the show a specific theme song. Dam is a major highlight of the show and contributes such a unique musical element to a significant amount of the jokes.

In Millet's group of friends we have Chicago (Matthew Moore), Dutchy (Edward McNally), and O'Shaughnessy (Vicente Saintingnon). The hilarious trio is a combination of snappy remarks, physical comedy (constantly falling and getting hit), and cultural uniqueness that makes for a very fun theater experience.

In Act One the dynamic set looks rundown in order to look like Millet and his friends are poor and desperate. In Act Two, the set transforms into a beautiful blue mansion to convey that Millet's fake death has acquired him a very large amount of money. The set is lovely and the cast does a wonderful job in using all elements of the set to their comedic advantage. Whether it was people falling on top of objects or picture frames toppling over, the cast does a great job at utilizing all parts of the set.

Overall, Mater Dei Theater's production of "Is He Dead?" is a wild, zany, and wonderfully weird adventure. It is so refreshing to watch this enthusiastic cast having fun on stage and bringing life to a play that revolves around a death.

Madeline Gray
La Habra High School
Submitted for publication to OC Cappies Facebook

Laughter ensued at Mater Dei's ‘Is He Dead?'

Mark Twain's farce on French artists takes place in 1846 in Paris, France. Jean Francois Millet and his rag-tag group of friends decide to declare him dead as Millet disguises himself as his own twin sister for the time being, to make more money for his paintings. The gang goes to any length to conceal Millet's identity, even from his closest friends.

Mater Dei High School's cast had great comedic timing as many of the jokes were hit right on the mark and the characters consistently stayed in character, even if the focus was not on them.

Phillip Venti played both Jean Francois Millet and Widow Tillou with hilarious reactions to his male counterparts on stage and a great physicality with his outrageous movements. It seemed quite effortless for him to switch back and forth between Millet's manly and outrageous behavior to Tillou's feminine and clumsy mannerisms.

McCallister Selva portrayed Marie Leroux in a most dramatic manner, as she gasped at every twist and turn of the show. As she pranced across the stage and waved her arms around like a queen, she provoked lots of laughter. Selva's presentational acting went along quite well with the whole silly theme of the farce.

As O'Shaughnessy, Vicente Saintingnon provided every scene he was in, with just the right amount of sarcasm and dry humor. His Irish accent was very good and he was very easy to understand.

Although many of the set pieces weren't very sturdy and may have swayed back and forth or fallen during the scenes, the cast made all of the technical mishaps seem like they were on purpose as they provided witty improvisational lines to connect them to the storyline.

The whole cast had great chemistry as they were able to play off each other well and pick the show back up if there was a dropped line (or prop, for that matter).

The costumes designed by Emma Whitley fit the time period and the characters very well, including that of Widow Tillou.

Mater Dei High School's "Is He Dead?" was definitely a show to remember as the entire cast caused a hilarious ruckus throughout every scene.