Theatre Notes
with Program Two consisting of four company premieres – “Allegro Brillante,” “Splendid Isolation,” “Clear” and “Bruch Violin Concerto No. 1” – and ends with Program Three, “Cinderella” with music by Prokofiev running May 4-6.
South Valley Civic Theater OUT 0F ORDER
classic farce. A single attempted misdeed lights the fuse of come- dy. A Conservative Member of Parliament, the comically named Richard Willey (a breathlessly vigorous John Brewer), known to the opposition as Thatcher’s lapdog, attempts a sexual liaison with secretary Jane Worthington (the effervescent Denee Lewis Bohnsack) at a posh hotel. His well-laid plans dissolve into comic chaos when the naughty ones part a set of curtains only to discov- er the body of a man wedged in the luxury suite’s large balcony window. Desperate to avoid the heat of detection, the married, randy Thatcherite calls in his aide George Pigden (a comically frantic Doug Doughty in a committed, hyper-kinetic perform- ance) to help in a cover up. As improvised lies cascade one upon another, the situation disintegrates into a jumble of cross-purposes as the hotel manager, the room service waiter, an angry husband, an adventurous wife and a stern nurse all contribute to an extremely sticky wicket. Director Jo Anna Evans gets a lot out of her enthusiastic
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cast. The first act lacks pace as characters and situation are introduced, but tightens up smartly in the second. Like a snow- ball rolling downhill, however, the action and pace gain momen- tum and the play finishes with a satisfying, sustained barrage of comic fireworks. As the manager, Alan Siverson is both com- manding and accommodating. Christine McElroy makes a warm, cheerful monoglot Italian hotel maid. Sandra Aranda cre- ates a lovable Nurse Foster and Roberta Vinkhuyzen, so sexy as Lola in Damn Yankees, gets to vamp it up again as Dick Willey’s wife Pamela. Handsome and buff, the charismatic Rob Ingenthron plays
Jane Worthington’s hostile, emotionally fragile husband with enthusiasm and as the room service waiter, Bill Tindall scores laughs and chuckles at every one of many appearances. Kel Whisner as “The Body,” is as important as any other
character on the stage and for a lifeless body he is, dare I say, the liveliest, most hilarious dead guy I have seen since the 1989 filmWeekend at Bernie’s. Finally, the large, unstable window upstage (engineered by
Wayne Dewey) is such an important part of the action that the window operator, Trudy Parks, gets her own well-deserved cur- tain call. This entertaining show is beautifully mounted with a hand-
some set designed by the show’s producer Scott Lynch, mount- ed with the help of an excellent construction crew, a platoon of painters working with scenic artist Glynis Crabb. Set décor was
44 April 2012 • Out & About
ith doors slamming, phones ringing and characters running around often half-clothed, Ray Cooney’s Out of Order is a
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