Hay Fever at Tacoma Little Theatre

A family affair

by Michael Dresdner

L to R: Judith Bliss (Jane McKittrick), Simon Bliss (Rodman Bolek)    All photos by Dennis K Photography

Noel Coward’s 1924 comedy Hay Fever opened last night at Tacoma Little Theatre, deftly directed by Rick Hornor and starring an outstanding ensemble cast. Quick paced and erudite, its language is riddled with comic comments and observations that spin by so quickly you’d need to watch it several times to get it all. In spite of being almost 100 years old, this study of family, ethos, and actions holds up quite nicely, thank you very much, thanks in large part to a frightfully skilled cast.

L to R: Simon (Rodman Bolek), Judith (Jane McKittrick), Sorel (Deya Ozburn) 

While a synopsis of the play may sound like a mix of Midsummer Night’s Dream and a foreshadow of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, it’s actually a subtly crafted reveal of a surprisingly close family who cherish one another more than anyone else. Even while arguing, they clearly care deeply for one another. By contrast, even while seducing their guests they have little real use for them.    

Such complex interrelationships are not easy to convey, but this cast manages to blend the intricate layers of their characters with one another flawlessly. It’s like watching gears mesh perfectly.

It’s time to meet the Bliss family in their elegant country house.

The father, David Bliss (John W. Olive) is a writer who spends much of his time, and much of the play, hidden away in his study. He emerges mostly to complain, seduce, or to employ his family as a sounding board for his latest writing efforts. Judith Bliss (Jane McKittrick) is his wife, and the real force majeure of the family, commanding both the household and the stage whenever she appears. She’s a former actress who still seeks the adoration of her fans, a counterbalance to the eye-rolling she suffers from her children.

L to R: Sorel (Deya Ozburn), Simon (Rodman Bolek) 

Her son, Simon (Rodman Bolek) is breezy, artistic, headstrong, energetic, and light-hearted. He fairly reeks of the airiness that comes from one raised in privilege. Daughter Sorel (Deya Ozburn) shares much of her brother’s freewheeling nature and stubborn streak, but also has a bit of neediness borne of a twinge of self-doubt. She’s much more like her mother than she probably cares to admit.

Finally, there is Clara (Adrianna Littlejohn Roland,) the sassy, barely capable housekeeper/maid who is kept on because she was Judith’s dresser back in her theatre days.

L to R: Jackie Coryton (Jill Heinecke), Richard Greatham (W. Scott Pinkston) 

Unbeknownst to one another, each family member has invited a guest of the opposite gender for the weekend, each apparently a potential tryst. David opts for Jackie Coryton (Jill Heinecke,) a young woman who admires his writing, and seems confused from the outset at getting such an invitation. Judith invites Sandy Tyrell (Frank Roberts), a too young, but very star struck devotee of the actress’s onstage work. For Simon it’s Myra Arundel (Devan Malone,) an elegant family acquaintance who has her own agenda in mind. Sorel chooses Richard Greatham (W. Scott Pinkston,) a dignified and reserved older diplomat who actually fancies Judith more than her daughter.

L to R: Sandy Tyrell (Frank Roberts), Judith (Jane McKittrick)

The family soon engages the guests in a game of adverbs and acting that is clear and fun to them, but leaves their guests feeling befuddled and awkward. No matter; in short order they all pair off, but each guest is whisked away to be wooed by a different family member than the one who invited them. By morning the guests are all so rattled that they decide to sneak away back to London, which they manage while the family is in the living room arguing senselessly about street names in Paris. The family barely notices their disappearance, and frankly cares less.

L to R: Judith (Jane McKittrick), Sorel (Deya Ozburn)

The final tableau of the family together in the living room sums it up sweetly; these are folks who love and depend on one another more than the outside world.

The family at home: Simon (Bolek), Sorel (Ozburn), Judith (McKittrick), David (John W. Olive) 

Though some see the play as a slanted view of English insouciance, it may hit closer to home. Coward wrote it in just three days shortly after returning from a trip to America where he was a house guest of Laurette Taylor and Hartley Manners. Thus, it may well be less of a commentary on British mores than a Brit’s-eye view of American self-indulgent flippancy in the Roaring Twenties.

And the name? You know how city folk might suffer atypical sneezing and itching in the pollen-laden country air? Perhaps it's a nod to the unwitting Bliss guests who are, quite unintentionally, made to feel uncomfortable during their country visit.

Though the plot is fairly thin, pulling off these complex relationships is a Herculean effort, a real challenge even for very good actors, housed in a play that requires a genuinely tight ensemble. Fortunately, that’s just what we have. I could call out each one individually for accolades, but to be honest, there wasn’t a weakness in any of them. This is an excellent chance to watch a finely integrated group of very talented people crafting a slice of life offering.  

As usual for TLT, it’s all backed by an excellent support crew. Blake York, who also did sound design, created the elegant country home set, lushly painted by scenic artist Jen York. An outstanding array of period costumes comes from Michele Graves, while props, hair, and wigs are thanks to Jeffery Weaver. Lighting is by Niclas Olson, and the action is herded by stage manager Nena Curley, assisted by ASM Courtney Rainer.

This is a wonderful play that admittedly presents challenges not only to the cast and crew, but to the audience as well. Nuanced, complex, funny, and revealing, it requires close attention, but is well worth your time and effort.

Disclosures:

I am married to one of the cast members.

This is my last review. As it is the end of TLT’s 100^th season (and Lakewood’s 80^th) I am hanging up my pencil. Thanks for taking this journey with me.

Hay Fever

June 7 to 23, 2019

Tacoma Little Theatre

https://www.tacomalittletheatre.com/

The Producers at Lakewood

Über the top

by Michael Dresdner

Roger DeBris (Dorset) and ensemble        All photos by Tim Johnson 

Lakewood Playhouse is closing out its 80^th season with the magnificent Mel Brooks musical The Producers, and what a show it is! Director Cassie Pruitt and choreographer Ashley Roy have created a rollicking, toe-tapping, colorful extravaganza that explodes onto the stage with such éclat that the modest theater’s walls can barely contain it. With an absolutely stellar cast, from the leads through every single ensemble performer, this one is a truly epic experience.  

Bialystock (Wolff) and Bloom (Johnson)

Max Bialystock (Chap Wolff, standing in last night for Brad Cerenzia) is a once mighty Broadway producer who, of late, has slid into a string of flops. But when dweeby accountant Leo Bloom (Will Johnson) suggests he could make more money by over-subscribing a play, as long as it is guaranteed to fail on opening night, the two set out to get rich.

Franz Liebkind (Sinclair)

They find the worst script, a sympathetic musical about Adolph Hitler written by a loony, pigeon-loving, Nazi sympathizer named Franz Liebkind (Kyle Sinclair). Next, they hire the worst director available, a flagrantly swish, cross-dressing hack named Roger DeBris (Henry Talbot Dorset) whose constant shadow is his equally outré gay lover/aide Carmen Ghia (Erik Davis).

Front: Bialystock (Wolff), DeBris (Dorset), Bloom (Johnson),  Rear: Carmen Ghia (Davis) and ensemble. 

Once they have a sure-fire flop lined up, a musical called Springtime for Hitler, Bialystock starts to court his stable of rich, lustful, old women investors to cover ten times the actual production costs. Max calls them not by their names, but with an epithet describing what they demand in exchange for checks, like the short, coy Hold Me Touch Me (Betzy Miller), who crafts hilarious sexual fantasies to subject him to.

L to R: Svaden Svanson (Ewerz), Bialystock (Wolff), Bloom (Johnson)

But even before auditions start, who should show up but a classic, drop-dead-gorgeous Swedish blonde bombshell named Ulla Inga Hansen Benson Yonsen Tallen-Hallen Svaaden-Svanson (Hayley Ewerz). They hire her on the spot as both actress and office help.

It all goes wrong when the opening night critics see it not as crassly tasteless, but wonderfully camp. The play is a hit, and the fraudulent producers end up in prison.

Bloom (Johnson) with ensemble and Hold Me Touch Me (Betzy Miller -- far right) 

Small wonder the play is a hit. We get to see it in act two, staged by a large, extraordinarily talented ensemble cast. From dancing pigeons to a geriatric Zimmer frame hoedown, the whole musical-within-a-musical bursts forth in a fast-paced, non-stop explosion of colorful, high-stepping absurdity that fills every inch of the theater. For the audience, it’s a veritable three-ring-circus of fun.   

As for the cast, I hardly know where to start. The leads were all amazing, but then so was the entire ensemble. What do you say when absolutely everyone deserves a call-out for excellence? There simply are not enough superlatives to do them justice.  

And let’s not forget the crew. An ambitious set by Blake York created a stepped thrust stage protruding from a classic proscenium background, complete with curtain and hidden cubbyholes. Add a dizzying number of hilarious, colorfully eye-searing costumes by Lauren Wells, complex and adroit lighting by Aaron Mohs-Hale, and sound design by Nicolas Roycroft with sound engineer Ed Jacobs. There were acres of creative props and wigs on this one, all thanks to Jeffery Weaver. And let’s not forget the stunt coach, Cara Hall, dance captain/cast member Kira Leigh Vega, and making this monstrously complex play run smoothly, stage manager Heather Hinds and ASMs Calvin Beekmand and D J Johnson.

There’s no way I can convey this experience in mere words, so please, trust me; go see it.

The Producers

June 7 to July 7, 2019

Lakewood Playhouse

http://www.lakewoodplayhouse.org/