script: William Van Zandt and Jane Milmore
director: Beth McManimon
costumes: Nancy Svendsen & Maureen Pronschinske
lights: Blaire Pronschinske & Samara McManimon-Myers
A pair of down-on-their-luck brothers decide to steal the inheritance they think should be theirs from the cousin they haven't seen in twenty years. An Avon Lady, a nun, an alcoholic house-keeper, a baby, a mobster, a bimbo, and a few others are the characters to tell the story.
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I've seen a great deal of bad community theatre, but this might possibly be the worst.
First, the script itself is typical community theatre fare ... somewhat farce, mistaken identities, and unrealistic characters making appearances. This could be done moderately well, but it would unlikely be a long-well-remembered play.
Add, now, a cast of over-acting, mugging, unrealistic actors with absolutely no direction (how many times can you have a group of people standing in a straight line?!) and you've compounded the play's problems. What this director doesn't seem to realize is that what is funny to a group during rehearsals often won't be funny when performed on stage. And yet, it felt like everything ever chuckled at in rehearsal made it to the stage and fell flat.
Was the man dressed as a nun funny? Yes. Did he seem to think he was funnier than he really was? Yes.Did he have potential? Yes. Did he have help? It doesn't seem so.
This was painful to sit through. I honestly don't know why I stayed for the second act -- the optimist in me ... that it had to get better!
The alcoholic, nymphomaniac housekeeper was a riot. She was totally believable throughout and brought the energy level on stage up a couple of notches any time she appeared.
The stranger, 'Jane,' was also quite 'real' but could have used a director reminding her to stop acting from the waist all the time (she'd plant her legs and bend at the waist every time she delivered a line).
I suspect that there's a lot of theatre just like this happening all over the country and perhaps I've been fortunate to not have had to deal with this too often. And now it's caught up to me with a vengeance.
Nice set.
