"The Torch Bearers"

August 29, 2010 — I couldn't really get into this production of the comedy "The Torch Bearers" at the Peterborough Players in Peterborough, New Hampshire. It's extremely rare for me to be disappointed by a Players performance, but I think the problem with this one is that it's dated. Many works survive the test of time and are relevant in any era, but this isn't one of them. Written in 1922 by George Kelly, it concerns an egomaniacal female stage director who convinces a woman with little talent she can play a part in a play after the original actress bowed out due to her husband's death.

I found the dialog unfunny for the most part. The situations weren't particularly amusing, and the play became tedious for me, not helped by the uncomfortably warm theater on an unseasonably hot late summer afternoon. The second act, which is about a fumbling cast of clueless, incompetent actors attempting to stage their play before a live audience, did have its funny moments, but two-thirds of the play were a drag. The problem wasn't the acting, which was brilliant, especially by the always excellent Lisa Bostnar and the popular scene-stealing Carmen Decker. The sets were beautifully constructed and the costumes were stunning. The problem was out-of-date humor.