Landry plays Regina, the only girl in the family, who married the gentle and generous Horace (Bill Hough) for his money. Her two brothers include the volatile Oscar (Chris Loftus) and the scheming Ben, played by Broadway veteran Bill Nolte with an oozy combination of snake-oil salesman and sideshow barker.
Landry renames the family to make it crystal clear what kind of people they are, then lets his talented Gold Dust Orphans dive in. As usual, he laces his script with comic anachronisms and double entendres, and director James P. Byrne (no relation to this writer) encourages lascivious line readings so that even the pronunciation of “bougainvillea’’ sounds naughty.
In addition to the talented Nolte, the cast includes such Orphan favorites as Scott Martino, who plays Oscar’s long-suffering wife, Birdie, with a charming vulnerability as well as a ditsy demeanor (just watch her play “Feelings’’ on the piano), and Liza Lott, whose performance as Oscar’s feckless son Leo is so funny it may leave you with a stitch in your side.
Margaret Ann Brady and William York provide hilarious support as Olive and Pimento, the two white slaves who serve Regina and her family, and Grace Carney provides an anchor of reality as Regina’s disillusioned daughter Alexandra.
The design team, the Glimmer Twins, makes use of every inch of playing space in Machine, with the action spilling out onto a runway (beware of the idly tossed gown train), side stages decorated with wildly clashing wallpaper, and a wonderful use of dolls to illustrate a distant view of workers dancing and family members traveling. Martino has created a truly eclectic array of period costumes and then some.
In a production marked by Byrne’s meticulous attention to detail, characters have deliriously funny silent moments: Leo, listening to music on headphones; Regina and Horace’s awkward attempt to show each other a small sign of affection; Regina’s facial expressions as she ignores her husband’s cries for help.
This antic satire, which makes - without preaching - pointed comments about the contemporary state of greed, also manages to honor its source material. Once again, the Gold Dust Orphans reinforce their preeminent position on the Boston theater scene.
