‘Are We Dell’Arte?’ is a clever romp

Age-old European theater tradition gets an update

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Are We Delicious?, an improvisational company founded in 2012 by Tony Trout, is back with a new production at Broom Street Theater. Are We Dell’Arte? is a clever romp in the tradition of commedia dell’arte, a form of improvisation that began in Italy and was popular in Europe from the 16th-18th centuries; it utilized stock characters easily recognizable by the audience. Apply that conceit to Madison in 2024 and you get the idea. This production is a fun night in the theater; the final show is Nov. 16 at 8 p.m.

The show begins with an introduction that is both charming and repeatedly interrupted with physical comedy. The host, Josh Gibbons, asks for donations and, tongue-in-cheek, lets the audience know that if anyone has any complaints about the production, they can mail them to the Bartell Theatre.

Some of the scenes are stand-alone sketches, while others run through the entire performance. Among the best: a driver picks up an aloof non-Midwestern man at the airport; a corporate office suddenly requires all work-from-home employees have a coworker join them in their home and report back on productivity; and a daycare is run by the Mafia.

Directed by Jeanne Leep, head of the Edgewood College Theatre Arts program, the show takes place in the small Broom Street black box theater, with few props, sound that is created entirely by the cast, and actors creating the setting primarily with their bodies. This, too, is in the tradition of commedia dell’arte, using improv to create enough familiarity with the premise of the scene.

It is a small troupe of actors, and each has moments of brilliance. Miranda Beadle incorporates wonderful comic timing playing a woman on her way to a movie with her partner, encountering obstacles at every turn while he breezes through. In a later scene she plays a cloaked religious cult figure and somehow manages a demonic look with her eyes that is haunting and hilarious. Every character she plays is spot on.

William Koebke plays Sean Dannity, a TV news “infotainer” focused on finding fault with immigrants, while revealing his own ignorance and ego. A segment with River Knight as a sorority girl with a talk show panel includes Koebke’s Eastern European character. Knight’s best work is the innocent and authentic portrayal of a beginning skier on a ski lift who becomes terrified when the lift stops in mid-air. 

Andres Guzman and Byron E. Yanzapanta excel in the work-from-home segment. The two actors play exact opposites beautifully, one in sales and the other in coding, with wonderful reactions to a corporate jargon-filled Zoom meeting with the boss. Anthony Novich Leonard plays a young applicant dismissed from a job interview due to lack of experience; quickly changing costumes, he returns as three successive applicants, each worse than the last. His talent is clear in the rapid assumption of new roles in this piece.

Brent Holmes also stands out with his portrayal of the driver with the unassuming Midwest niceness, as well as of a man who likes trees and nature in the talk show panel — he creates a pure nature stoner, his body so relaxed that it took a long time for a smile to fully form on his face.

With its rehearsed improvisation techniques and skilled comedic actors, Are We Delicious? is a welcome addition to the Broom Street lineup.