A rollicking adventure of deception, misunderstanding and bed-hopping.
The story follows Tom Jones, a charmer with a heart of gold but who’s looking for love in all the wrong places. Tom gets banished from the only home he knows simply for expressing his true self, leading him to conscription in the army, a half-naked romp at a country inn and a stint as the boy-toy to an aristocrat whose machinations make Dangerous Liaisons look like child’s play.

Directed by Marc Acito
BOOK: MARC ACITO
MUSIC: AMY ENGELHARDT
LYRICS: MARC ACITO

If I could fill this review with synonyms for “brilliant” it still wouldn’t be enough, or do justice to just how good Bastard Jones is. Writer and director Marc Acito and composer/lyricist Amy Engelhardt provide a rock musical extravaganza that stays true to the picaresque novel it is based on: The history of Tom Jones; A Foundling by Henry Fielding. Tom Jones is a goodhearted, but ever so-over-sexed lad who always tries to do the right thing even though he is surrounded by those who would deem themselves to be “better” than him, yet lack social morals. Marc Acito’s vision to have “theater that is inclusive, collaborative and reflective of positive social change” is certainly realized in this most joyous and innovative production. Seemingly simplistic — it makes multiple uses of a dining room table and a bed sheet — there is yet a lavishness to the production. While the production is not short in props or glorious costumes, it was the quirky multi-purpose use of such items that made the production feel at once minimalist and full. I do not want to dismiss the inclusion of the wooden leg of real-life amputee Evan Ruggiero, who played Tom Jones, as a weapon in some fight scenes, bu …Read more