Our current production of “Play On!” is in its 2nd week of performances. I was House Manager last night which affords me the opportunity to see the show and get feedback from our patrons.

As a Board, we made a decision a short while back to expand our theatrical offerings to include at least one ‘non-musical’ production in our season. After watching last night’s performance, that’s one decision that I’m thrilled we made!

What a wonderfully funny and engaging show! If you’re not familiar with the storyline, here is a brief overview:

“This is the hilarious story of a theater group trying desperately to put on a play in spite of maddening interference from a haughty authoress who keeps revising the script. Act I is a rehearsal of the dreadful show, Act II is the near disastrous dress rehearsal, and the final act is the actual performance in which anything that can go wrong does. When the authoress decides to give a speech on the state of the modern theatre during the curtain calls, the audience is treated to a madcap climax to a thoroughly hilarious romp. Even the sound effects reap their share of laughter. “

Rana Tan plays the part of the overbearing, flip-flopping playwright to perfection. Friedrich Schlott, in the role of Doctor Forbes, does an amazing job of intentionally ‘over-acting!’ As much as I enjoy the ‘full-blown’ experience of musicals, with large casts and orchestra, it’s a nice change of pace to watch a smaller, more intimate cast such as this. Comedies like “Play On!” require skilled timing and an ability for the actors to effectively jump back and forth between their stage persona and their ‘real-life’ characters. I especially enjoyed the ending. It will have you leaving the theater with a wonderfully satisfied smile on your face!

Rich Jacobson