“Farce” by definition is “a comic dramatic work using buffoonery and horseplay and typically including crude characterization and ludicrously improbable situations.”
Farce is not intended to make sense or have any logical plot. It is intended to throw characters into interesting – and ultimately exasperating – situations they must connive their way out of or resolve some issue without everyone else finding out the truth. The situations are inane, the excuses implausible and motivations are typically thinner than a strand of angel hair pasta.
And that's what makes farce work as well as it does. Audiences need not worry about the story or characters development or any of the other elements which make most dramatic works flow; the audience at a farce need merely sit back and enjoy the nonsense being presented for their bemusement. And the most ironic thing is that farce works best when the actors are trying their hardest to make the nonsensical and unbelievable seem completely believable.
This is the reason the farce “There's A Burglar In My Bed” currently playing at The Shawnee Playhouse works as well as it does. It is ludicrous and unbelievable with plot holes large enough to drive a Buick through – but the audience is laughing too hard and too often to care about any of that.
The play takes place in a combination “beach” and “guest house” on the “two-hundred acre Worthington family compound” in Massachusetts. The story concerns wealthy married couple William and Ashley Worthington who are portrayed to the snobbish hilt by Dan Eash and Sarah McCarroll. Their marriage is on the rocks and as a result both are involved in extra-marital affairs: William with the vivacious Larraine (Juliet Dunham) and Ashley with the suave Edward (Tamir Ali-Cousins).
As fate would have it both Worthington's arrive at this beach house with their paramours in tow on the same weekend – each thinking their spouse is away for a legitimate reason. For the first scene the two couples enter and exit rooms barely missing seeing each other or their spouse's lover. The timing in this scene is the best in the play as one door closes the moment another opens and while the audience can see “everything” the characters do not see what is going on in other rooms which amps up the amusement.
Ashley and William want a divorce but Ashley is convinced she will receive nothing due to a pre-nuptial agreement while William is concerned that Ashley and her lawyers will fight to claim a fabulous family heirloom – the Worthington necklace – a priceless sapphire and diamond necklace with a bit of a “curse” on it. Any woman who touches it instantly falls in love with it and wants to keep it.
The two Worthingtons and their lovers devise plans against their significant others. Ashley plots to have compromising photos take of William (with the help of her best friend Marianne) while William conceives a plan to make it appear that the necklace has been stolen so Ashley will not go after it in the divorce. William and Larraine enlist her sister Deborah to help “pretend” to have the necklace stolen while Ashley and Edward hire a private investigator to take the photos of William and Marianne.
Confused yet' It only gets more confusing as identities are mistaken, information is mis-communicated, lies are told right and left, until a final crescendo of prat falls, slamming doors and half-exposed costumes. It is a whirlwind of one unbelievable situation followed by another but each and every moment brings more and more laughter from the audience.
Sarah McCarroll and Dan Eash are perfect as the “antagonistic protagonists” trying to set their individual plots into motion while not allowing the other in on their secret. Juliet Dunham is equally enjoyable as the shrill Larraine while Tami Ali-Cousins attempts to remain sophisticated against a hurricane of craziness unleashed around him (and accomplishes this very well).
Midge McClosky is a joy to watch as she channels every southern belle from Scarlett O'Hara to Blanche Devereaux in her role. Victoria de Benedetto is charming as the innocent and “eager to help” younger sister of Larraine who is there to help with the burglary scheme.
But the real “workhorse” of this production is George Schwenzer as malaprop spouting private investigator William Davis. This character falls, is hit and slapped, and gets stuck in various objects throughout the show. He plays his scenes with a straight faced stoniness which makes it even more enjoyable to watch him “suffer” through the many indignities he is subjected to during the course of the play.
The set design by Brandon Rush is an effective use of the space and while not overdone with scenery or props it conveys a motif of “wealthy beach house” quite nicely. One problem with this (as with any farce) is that photos or paintings have a tendency to tilt or fall if not secured properly when there is so much door slamming as is the custom for a farce. This play is no exception and the paintings on the wall were rocking as if in an earthquake. I mention this because during intermission an OCD audience member walked up on stage to “adjust” one of the paintings which had tilted askew during the first act – which was a bit disconcerting.
The lighting by Curtiss Burton was very effective with each room being individually lit so that lights could go off in the living room but remain on in the bedroom. This was especially helpful for a shadowy scene involving the hiding of the priceless necklace.
As stated earlier, being a farce the play does not need to makes sense – and it doesn't in many instances. But the energy of the cast and quality of the production at The Shawnee Playhouse leave no reason for anyone to worry much about “why” the story does not make sense. The audience is laughing and enjoying the show too much to care.
“There's A Burglar In My Bed” at The Shawnee Playhouse is a healthy dose of humor and fun with a “saucy” story which is best suited for mature audiences. The show runs through May 15th. For tickets call 570-421-5093 or visit www.theshawneeplayhouse.com.