Beardall (as Reverend Lionel Toop) tries to understand Missy Riffle (as Miss Skillon, seated on the couch) while Lynley Hogan (as Ida) looks on. JAll cast are from the opening night performance.
Photos by Louise R. Shaw | Davis Clipper
The farce, which is playing in the Connie Leishman Performance Hall at the Davis Center for the Performing Arts now through Sept. 1, is propelled by a fearless cast that embraces the wackiness wholeheartedly. The more lost they were, the harder I laughed.
Though it’s impossible to summarize a good farce, the plot of “See How They Run” starts with a vicar and his actress wife and ends up including a colonel, a missing uniform, a Russian spy, a drunk busybody, a police officer, a gun, a very busy closet, a visiting reverend, a bishop and a maid who seems to be the only person who knows what’s going on. Don’t worry if you get lost in any of this – you can’t be more confused than the people onstage.
Brandon Garside is a delight as Corp. Clive Winton, who throws himself around the room and delivers a well-timed one-liner with equal ease. As the vicar’s wife, Katie Evans maintains a sense of poise throughout the disaster, which just makes the whole thing funnier. Darin J. Beardall and Brian Han stand up to the challenge of being the show’s straight men, while Ricky Ferlin has an excellent Cockney accent as the beleagured police officer trying to make sense of it all.
As a local busybody climbing to ever-higher levels of distress, Missy Riffle has a wonderful extended drunk scene that was an absolute delight to watch. Joe Nichols’ expressions are equally fun to watch, no matter what else is going on. Lynley Hogan steadies the entire thing as Ida, the only one on stage who seems to have a clue.
Lucky for us, she enjoys chaos.
For tickets, call 801-298-1302.
Post a Comment
