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Anatomical antics Swearingen shows off range in 'Castrato'

Monday, March 6, 2006

By LAWSON TAITTE / The Dallas Morning News

ADDISON -- The world has been waiting for Jeff Swearingen to find a role that could contain and exploit his explosive, hilarious and truly quirky talent. He's finally got one.

Mr. Swearingen first did Andy Eninger's one-man show The Last Castrato at New York's Fringe Festival last summer. He's repeating it as Audacity Productions' offering in the 2006 Out of the Loop Festival at WaterTower Theatre. His performance, seen Sunday, upholds the high standards the festival has set for itself over the first weekend -- and maybe even tops the list.

The actor plays Joseph, a young man born without genitals. Obviously, a script like this is going to consist of one truly sick joke after another, and there are some great ones. But this is also a tale of tragic romance, after Joseph falls in love with a girl even more unusual in her anatomy.

Under Brad McEntire's direction, Mr. Swearingen bounced between hilarity and an almost scary intensity. The actor's zany energy has always been difficult to harness. The Last Castrato liberates it and challenges it to keep on getting crazier and crazier. More than once, the audience finds itself unable to stop laughing.

The Out of the Loop Festival continues through Sunday at WaterTower Theatre, Addison Conference and Theatre Centre, 15650 Addison Road, Addison. $5 to $15, festival pass $50. 972-450-6232, www.watertowertheatre.org.