“Il Bidone” is the story of Augusto, an aging con man played by Ralph P. Martin, and his two sidekicks, Roberto and Picasso, played by Ben Messmer and York Griffith, respectively. The characters pretend they’re higher authorities to swindle peasants.

The story takes a turn when Augusto comes across his daughter (Andrea Tzvetkov), now a grown woman pursuing her studies. Unable to pay for her education, Augusto has a change of heart and compassionately seeks to do what he can to help his daughter.

Things go awry and he ends up alone and … swindled! This is a play that criticizes the Catholic Church and politics in general.

“Fellini’s Il Bidone” could not be further from the term Fellini-esque. Fortunately, there were two theatrical elements richly present.

The set designer, Janne Larsen crafted a beautiful yet simple layout on the stage very effective to the context of the play. In addition, the costumes were brilliant metaphors created by Jason Trucco.

The Bootleg Theater is located at 2220 Beverly Boulevard in Los Angeles. For more information, visit www.rushforthproductions.com.