"Don't Dress for Dinner"

August 24, 2016 — When I made the reservation for "Don't Dress for Dinner" at the New London Barn Playhouse in New London, New Hampshire the day after "The Ladies Man" at the Peterborough Players, I wasn't aware of the similarities in these two comedies. Not that that's a disadvantage. Both were excellent, the Peterborough production perhaps a bit more polished, but the acting, direction and well-choreographed physical comedy in both was very well-done.

These plays fall into the category of French farce, merry mix-ups of deception, mistaken identity, misunderstandings, false accusations, infidelity, all at a frantic pace that leaves few breaks in the action or the laughs.

To me there's an important difference between the two similar plays. In "The Ladies Man," a perfectly innocent but suspicious-looking event leads to accusations of a secret affair, drawing others into its web as lies upon lies are told to cover up something that never happened. "Don't Dress for Dinner" is far from innocent. Extra-marital affairs are blatant and deliberate, more like what one would expect from what many perceive as the French casual acceptance of such behavior, deserved or not.

In "Don't Dress for Dinner" by French playwright Marc Camoletti, adapted by Robin Hawdon, Bernard (Drew Lewis) sees an opportunity to spend a weekend with his mistress, Suzanne (Kerry Ipema) when his wife, Jacqueline (Evyn Whiteley) goes off to spend a couple of days with her mother. Bernard's friend, Robert (Scott Cote), is also on the way. Robert was best man at Bernard's wedding. Robert will make a perfect cover for Bernard's tryst with Suzanne, so Bernard thinks. Bernard has arranged for a caterer to prepare a dinner for his guests. They send their chef, Suzette (Marie Claire Rousel). Notice the similarity in names, Suzanne and Suzette. They could both be called Suzie. Does this play into the plot? You bet it does!

All this might have worked except for a couple of minor complications. When Bernard's wife, Jacqueline, learns Robert is going to be there, she can't bear to miss him. So she calls her mother and fakes the flu and cancels her trip. That's the first minor complication. The second looms a little larger. Unknown to Bernard, Jacqueline and Robert have been carrying on an affair for some time. When all five of these people end up in the house at the same time, things get very interesting, and hilarious. Late in the second act, Suzette the chef's husband, George (Ben Salus) shows up to pick up his wife, and quickly gets drawn into the subterfuge and deception he has no knowledge of.

Kathryn Markey's direction smoothly guides the actors through this laugh-filled production, the final show of the New London Barn's 84th season. An appreciative audience gave the actors long and enthusiastic applause at curtain call. As is the Barn's custom, the actors lined up outside to greet departing patrons.

"The Ladies Man"

August 23, 2016 — Every one of the eight actors in this delightful farce has a brilliant comic role. David Breitbarth as Etienne the valet lies, then tells more lies to cover up previous lies to protect his boss, all the while hitting on Marie, the maid, played by Susan Riley Stevens, who's thrown into fits of hysterical laughter at the thought of an affair with Etienne. Anderson Matthews is Dr. Hercule Molineaux, Etienne's boss, who can't explain a night at the Moulin Rouge, and adds to the confusion by fabricating more stories that contradict Etienne's lies. Karron Graves is the doctor's wife, Yvonne, who isn't buying any of it.

Kraig Swartz is the doctor's friend Bassinet who speaks with a Sylvester Pussycat-style lisp and sprays everyone he talks to in the face. Dale Hodges is Madame Aigreville, Yvonne's domineering mother who strikes fear into everyone, especially all men of whom she has a very low opinion. Tall, intimidating Kate Hampton is Suzanne Aubin who accompanied the doctor at the Moulin Rouge, and no one believes their night out was innocent. Tom Frey is Gustav Aubin, a uniformed, sword-carrying, goose-stepping Prussian officer who happens to be Suzanne's over-protective husband.

Got all that?

Well, that isn't the half of it. Written and directed by Charles Morey, this play at the Peterborough Players in Peterborough, New Hampshire is a masterpiece of hilarious deception, mistaken identity and misunderstandings. A fine set by Harry Feiner can be quickly converted from a plush living room to a dressmaker's salon and back again, with a rotating section and lots of doors to be slammed as actors appear and disappear in a choreograph of perfect direction and timing.

A play of physical as well as verbal comedy, I may remember "The Ladies Man" as the funniest show of this season. Audience laughter was almost uninterrupted throughout.

"Crazy for You"

August 16, 2016 — Summer theaters in New Hampshire have been drawing large crowds this season, which I'm pleased to see. The downside of this is that good seats are hard to come by unless you reserve way in advance. I usually wait for a good weather report before making my reservation because I like to drive on sunny days and stroll around the attractive towns most of the theaters are located in. Because of this, I've had to settle for less than the best seats several times this summer.

The 84-year-old New London Barn in New London, New Hampshire is a small, intimate theater where no seat is too far from the stage, but the view is partially blocked by posts supporting the balcony in a few locations. On my recent trip there the best seat I could secure was ten rows back from the stage, and the low hanging bslcony made it necessary to scrunch down in my seat when actors were hoisted onto other actors shoulders, or climbed onto ladders and other props, as they frequently did in this night's production, and their heads were hidden by the edge of the balcony. Also, a post, although thin enough so that it didn't block my view, still stood directly in the center of my field of vision and proved very annoying. Overall, it was about the worst seat I can ever remember.

However, none of these seating deficiencies spoiled my enjoyment of "Crazy for You," a new musical with book by Ken Ludwig and music and lyrics by George and Ira Gershwin. It's based on the Gershwins' 1930 musical, "Girl Crazy," with songs from several of their other productions. Directed and choreographed for the Barn by Keith Coughlin, the show featured an energetic young cast with some fine voices and great dance moves. The play contains some of the Gershwins' best and most familiar songs, like "Someone To Watch Over Me," "Embraceable You," "I Got Rhythm," "They Can't Take That Away from Me" and others.

Bobby Child (Matt Gibson) is bored with his job as a banker and fancies himself an entertainer. He can't get a break from musical producer Bela Zangler (Matthew Patrick Quinn) who thinks Bobby is talentless. When Bobby's mother (Sara Schoch) sends him to Deadlock, Nevada, to see if he can find a way to get payments on their theater mortgage to resume before the bank has to foreclose, he abandons his fiancee, Irene (Veronica Burt) and travels to Deadlock, where he's immediately smitten by attractive theater manager Polly (Laura Sky Herman). But Polly rejects him as soon as she learns he's from the bank. But when Bobby learns Polly is an admirer of Bela Zangler, he puts on a wig and false beard and poses as the producer.

A slim plot, but with some great Ken Ludwig comic moments. Bobby's deception is eventually revealed, all is forgiven, Polly's theater is saved, all's well that ends well. There, I've given away the entire story, but it doesn't matter. The music and dancing is the reason you go to a show like "Crazy for You," and the New London Barn delivers. Supporting the aforementioned actors is a large, excellent cast of singers and dancers. At the end of the show, the entire cast lines up on the Barn's porch and greets departing patrons, a nice touch.

"A Murder Is Announced"

August 11, 2016 — If you were intent on committing murder, why would you run an announcement in the local newspaper notifying everyone, and giving the exact time and place you planned to do the deed? Dora Bunner (Jean Mar Brown) discovered the announcement and showed it to her live-in companion, Letitia Blacklock (Penny Purcell), owner of the home, and the exact place where the announcement said the murder would occur at 6:30 that evening, Friday the 13th. Letitia laughed it off as someone's idea of a joke. Later in the evening, as 6:30 approached and the house was filled with guests, no one was taking it seriously, but there was some gallows humor over the possibility it might be true, and which among them might be the victim.

Then, at 6:30 sharp, there was a flash of light, the power went off, the room was plunged into darkness, there was much screaming, and shots rang out! That's all I'm going to tell you. When the lights came back on, one of Agatha Christie's most puzzling and complicated mysteries was underway.

The Barnstormers in Tamworth, New Hampshire, in their 86th season, presented Christie's "A Murder Is Announced." The Barnstormers have presented many Christie mysteries over the years, and their experience with this author's work pays off. The actors seem to have fun with the material, and their enthusiasm draws the audience in.

Dale Place, no stranger to British police inspector roles, is Inspector Craddock. His persistent questioning gradually fits the pieces of the mystery together, occasionally veering off in wrong directions as the various accounts of those present don't add up. Complicating things further are some individuals who turn out not to be who they say they are. The inspector gets more than a little help from Vinette Cotter as Miss Marple (yes, that Miss Marple).

Cheryl Mullings is Mitzi, the housekeeper, a domineering, perpetually angry Russian immigrant with a persecution complex. What is her part in the mystery? She seems to hate everyone. In typical Dame Agatha fashion, the mystery isn't solved until the final minutes, and as always it's an outcome we least expected.

Rounding out the excellent cast are Angela Hope Smith, Buddy Haardt, Madeleine Maby, Kathy Somssich, Ryan Malyar, Andrew Codispoti and Michael Costa. The play was directed by Barnstormers artistic director Bob Shea. Set design was by Sarah Rozene and costume design by Mary Selvoski.

"Pygmalion"

August 9, 2016 — I admit I'm not a big fan of George Bernard Shaw. I've seen two of his plays in the past, "Arms and the Man" and "Candida," and found neither all that memorable, although I get Shaw's biting satire and social commentary. When I learned the Peterborough Players in Peterborough, New Hampshire was presenting Shaw's "Pygmalion," I debated with myself whether I wanted to see this popular play, better known to latter-day audiences as its musical off-spring, "My Fair Lady." But I thought it might be interesting to see the play in its original form, as Shaw wrote it, so I made a reservation and headed for Peterborough.

This was a very polished production. I'm sure I'll remember it as the best of the season in any theater as far as production values, stagecraft and acting. The play was directed by the Players' artistic director, Gus Kaikkonen, with sumptuous costumes by Jane Stein and two beautiful Charles Morgan sets that were swapped quickly and seamlessly several times during the play. I counted seventeen actors in the program, many of them playing bit parts early in the first act.

Most of us are familiar with the basics of the story. Eliza Doolittle (Karron Graves), the crude Cockney flower girl is taken under the wing of Professor Henry Higgins (Greg Wood). Higgins, suave and learned but cantankerous, over-sensitive and abusive, sets out to make a presentable lady of Eliza.

I wonder how many regulars in the Players audience recognized the almost unrecognizable Kraig Swartz as Eliza's father, long-haired and thick-bearded, in the ragged attire of a street person with a thick Cockney accent. A fine comic actor, Swartz is seen again in the final act, completely transformed to a society gentleman and hating it.

The Hill siblings, Clara (Emily Elizabeth Jones) and Freddy (Mason Conrad), and their mother, Mrs. Eynsford Hill (Dee Nelson) are present to witness Higgins' introduction of Eliza, coming out as a refined lady. Nelson, a multiple award-winning actress, deserves an award here just for her stunned facial expressions.

Dale Hodges, excellent as always, is Higgins' mother, the one person not fooled by Henry's self-absorbed, tyrannical behavior. Michael Page, a Players favorite, is Colonel Pickering, Higgins' friend, fellow confirmed bachelor, and often defender of Eliza and apologist for the bombastic professor. Another award-winning actress and Players regular, Lisa Bostnar, is somewhat underused here as Higgins' maid, Mrs. Pearce.

Shaw's skewering of the British class system and the gulf between the upper and  lower classes in this play set in 1911 London is still relevant today. It didn't make me any more of a Shaw fan than I was before, but this production by the Peterborough Players deserves awards for excellence in direction, sets, costumes and casting.

"Israel Potter, American Patriot"

August 4, 2016 — The full, ungainly title of this new play is "The Almost True and Truly Remarkable Adventures of Israel Potter, American Patriot," having its world premiere at the Winnipesaukee Playhouse in Meredith, New Hampshire. Written by Joe Bravaco and Larry Rosler, based on a novel by Herman Melville, the play follows the life of Israel Potter from early adulthood to his senior years, and his unlikely involvement with many of the famous participants in the American Revolution and its aftermath.

Click the photo for an enlargement of the beautiful set designed by Dan Daly and constructed, unbelievably, in just two days by Andrew Stuart and his crew. Six actors, each playing multiple roles, skillfully use this set and its furnishings as props to represent many different scenarios.

Mike Newman, as Israel Potter, is the only actor playing a single role. All the others play several parts each, often with little more than minor costume changes and an assortment of wigs. Some male roles are played by women, notably Molly Parker Myers in one of the best Ben Franklin portrayals I've seen. James Hesse is outstanding as the bombastic John Paul Jones. Brent Alan Burington is equally impressive as the pompous, self-promoting Ethan Allen. Nicholas Wilder was as irrepressible as always as Ticknor and other characters, and Rebecca Tucker slipped effortlessly into multiple roles, principally Potter's fiancee, heartbroken when he departs for an uncertain future fighting for the American cause.

Directed for the Playhouse by Matt Cahoon, the play is a mix of historical fact and fiction, performed by gifted actors who skillfully switch between multiple characters, sometimes several in a matter minutes. You have to pay close attention to follow the swift action. Funny and poignant, this play was a real audience-pleaser.