For me, there are two probable causes When Farces Fail. The first is in the construction ? I despise Ray Cooney?s works, not just because he keeps writing the same hack show over and over, but because his lead characters are generally assholes who deserve all the havoc they?ve brought down upon themselves. I don?t need to like the characters in all types of shows, but farces involve extricating oneself from calamity, so it makes sense to want to root for the person to win. Lend Me a Tenor is a terrific farce because we want Max to become an opera star and get the girl. A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum only works because its con man hero is a slave who will do anything to win his freedom. Similarly, See How They Run features leads who are nice, ordinary people having a bad day.
The other thing that can make a farce taste like sour milk is Lack of Commitment. People have been brought up with television acting to the point where ?Theatricality? and ?Hamminess? have become synonymous. Hamminess is ?Hey Ma Look At Me? instead of acting. Theatricality is a performance big enough to let the audience in the back row feel uncheated. In a farce, events don?t just matter, they?re cataclysmic. Everything involves desperation and if you?re not desperate enough, you may put the jokes across, but you?re not selling them.
All that being said, you?ve got one weekend left to see See How They Run at Wheaton Drama. Get your ass over there. It?s one of the top-notch farce productions I?ve seen in this area. Annie Walker-Bright?s direction is razor-sharp and there isn?t a wasted second onstage.
Before I get to the cast, I?m mentioning the set. My wife looked at the set and said, ?Let?s move in.? It?s a gorgeous piece of work by designer Don Dumper and decorator Peggy Young that gives a farce the solid, realistic base it needs for the craziness to happen.
The show takes place at a vicarage in England in the 1940s. Penelope Toop, an American actress lately married to the local vicar, is causing a bit of a commotion in the village because she wears pants and ?yoo hoos? soldiers. The meddling shrew Miss Skillon stops by, as does Penelope?s former co-star in Private Lives (now in the Army), her Bishop uncle and a Russian spy. Hilarity ensues.
Dawn Herbst as Penelope is equal parts friendly, capricious, scatterbrained and hot. The George Burns to her Gracie Allen is Tony Farruggio as Cpl. Clive Winton, trying to simultaneously accommodate her and make sense out of her actions. They have great chemistry together and they Commit.
Angelicque Cate as Ida the Maid and JoAnn Smith as the rubber-legged Miss Skillon are my prime examples here. Both performances are HUGE ? as are the laughs they get. Both women are right on target.
Dennis Brown as the bullheaded baffled bishop and Thom Reed as the innocent but obliging Humphrey are spot on, as are Jack Smith as the Russian spy, Marcus Sanghera as Penelope?s stodgy but amiable husband and Mike Albrow as the police sergeant.
And I really can?t pick a favorite. The ensemble work is so tight, so right and so funny that everybody on the team hits a home run. And that kind of coordination comes down to the director, so I guess my favorite is Annie.
Wheaton Drama's See How They Run Page
Remaining performances are February 22, 23, 24 & 25. You can order tickets online here: Wheaton Drama Online Tickets
Get over & see See How They Run. It?s a funny show.
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Obligatory self-promotion:
My auditions for The Mystery at Twicknam Vicarage (another very funny evening) are
February 25: Click here for audition information.
Boston Marriage opens March 1:
Eudaimonia - Click Here
<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ February 19, 2007 03:09 PM: Message edited by: Sgt. Bilko ]</font>
