Stage Reviews - One Man, Two Guvnors (TLT) / Run For Your Wife (BCT)
Stage Review - Run For Your Wife
Presented By: Bremerton Community Theatre - Bremerton, WA
Show Run: August 30 - September 22, 2024
Date Reviewed: Saturday, September 07, 2024
Reviewed By: Greg Heilman
Stage Review - One Man, Two Guvnors
Presented By: Tacoma Little Theatre - Tacoma, WA
Show Run: September 06 - September 22, 2024
Date Reviewed: Friday, September 06, 2024 (Opening Night)
Reviewed By: Greg Heilman
This past weekend, I had the opportunity to take in not one, but two British farces. The first, at Tacoma Little Theatre, is Richard Bean’s One Man, Two Guvnors. The play, derived originally from the Italian comedy translated into The Servant of Two Masters, is the tale of one gentleman, through a series of fascinating, yet odd events, ends up working for two employers, “Guvnors” so to speak. Meanwhile, Run For Your Wife, the Ray Cooney comedy, tells the fantastical tale of one man, married to two women in neighboring towns, each fully unaware that the other exists. In each of these stories, there’s a sizable incentive not to let the one Guvnor, or wife, know about the other. In One Man, Two Guvnors, the motivation is, strangely enough, food, at least at first. In Run For Your Wife, it’s a little more self-explanatory. Both of these shows are farces in the true sense of the word, absurd stories that feature situations that are exaggerated and improbable, and which ask a lot of the actors in the name of comedy. Each are skillfully crafted by their authors, the webs of lies and other untruths getting deeper and deeper with every line of dialogue, and each character being brought into the craziness, in many cases completely involuntarily. As the lies progress and get more complicated, they each skate that razor thin line, balancing between getting away with it and being caught, and as they teeter back and forth through one jaw dropping and hilarious moment to the next, the audience can’t help but be impressed at how awful these people, and how wonderful the acting is to make each so unbelievably believable. These are two supremely entertaining pieces of comedy, both running through September 22 at their respective theaters.
One Man, Two Guvnors (Tacoma Little Theatre)
In One Man, Two Guvnors, Francis Henshall finds himself in the middle of a scheme to defraud his boss’ late twin’s former future father-in-law, to collect money that was part of an agreement for an arranged marriage. That may seem like a bit to unpack, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg with this one. Francis, having been promised by Rachel Crabbe (the twin whose employ he is in, who is herself pretending to be her late brother) to be paid weekly, is in search of a way to satisfy his increasing hunger that can’t wait until his Friday payday, and in doing so comes across Stanley Stubbers, an aloof prep school grad, and quickly begins working for him as well, hoping that he can work his way to some food. Francis does his best to keep his two Guvnors apart, so that neither discovers that he’s working for the other, and in doing so, of course he spins a web of confusion so complex, even he doesn’t know which side is up. Generally, this is an ensemble piece, though that ensemble is fully in support of Francis and his obsession with quelling his hunger, and keeping his cover intact.
In this production, Blake R. York is Francis, and boy is he good in this role. He’s extremely funny, and nails every component of this farce, his delivery impeccable, his physicality on point, and his interaction with the other characters in the play and the audience, which requires a fair bid of ad-libbing, flawless. Just as his character drives the story and its controlled chaos, Blake drives this production, controlling the pace and the humor. The ensemble is good here, but Blake is so good that they wouldn’t even have to be. Among the things to be impressed with in this performance is the sheer endurance of it all. Blake is active from start to finish, his character is always in motion, add to that the ad-lib factor and it’s not just physically demanding, emotionally it also takes quite a bit, but the energy of the performance is steady from start to finish. Oh, and Francis will eat or drink just about anything, so that means that Blake has to be able to do the same.
Francis’ first Guvnor, Rachel Crabbe is played by Cassie Jo Fastabend in a turn that requires her to pose as her late twin brother to perpetrate the fraud against mobster Charlie “The Duck” Clench, Rachel’s late brother’s almost father-in-law, portrayed by John Gonzales. Charlie had arranged for Roscoe Crabbe to marry his daughter Pauline (Brittany Griffins), who herself is head over heels in love with aspiring actor Alan Dangle (Mason Quinn), whose father Harry (Mikel Michener) is Charlie’s solicitor with questionable ethics. Stanley Stubbers, played by Guy Simpson III, meets Francis by chance, and puts him to work first moving his large trunk, and seems to be Francis’ best chance at getting his beloved Fish and Chips, his hunger quite the motivator throughout Act 1. As the play moves into Act 2, Francis turns his eyes to another “motivator”, Dolly, Charlie’s bookkeeper. Dolly is played by Gretchen Boyt and as the object of Francis’ affection is being continuously promised a trip to Spain by him, though of course, if he doesn’t have money for food, how can he afford a trip to Majorca?
These are all good supporting performances, though the best out of them all is Guy’s Stanley. Snooty and aloof, his nasal delivery makes him seem, in a way, better than everyone else, at least in his mind, and Guy’s facial expressions drive much of the humor he delivers, along with having some of the best one liners in the play, like “first names are for girls and Norwegians”. Trust me, in context it’s hilarious. This show is chock full of good one liners, and nothing is off limits, particularly Australia. His performance is exemplary, and for much of the play, he is Francis’ setup, or straight. As such, his demeanor is steady, while so much chaos is transpiring around him. Overall, this is a good and talented cast, rounded out by Roger Iverson in a strong performance as head waiter Gareth and Micheal O’Hara as Alfie, perhaps the absolute funniest of all of the supporting performances. Micheal’s comedic timing is wonderful, a lot of it physical in nature. Other highlights are Mason’s Alan, the actor who over-dramatizes everything, and of course Cassie’s Roscoe/Rachel. Much of her humor is situational, and she does very well here. Gretchen’s Dolly is also quite good, especially in her interactions with Blake’s Francis.
One Man, Two Guvnors is like two acts of sleight of hand, relying not just on acting, but on the disposition of props and stage blocking. Director Brett Carr makes good use of the stage, and Blake’s (he’s not just Francis, he’s also the Technical Director and Scenic Designer) set uses every bit of what Tacoma Little Theatre has to offer, from sets that change by making full use of the theatre’s rotating stage to a design that feels comfortable, symmetric with a pastel palette that resembles a lighter version of an offering from Wes Anderson. Rotating through the set changes are the accompaniment to the play, a skiffle band under the musical direction of Ryan Coleman, who also provide a set of pre-show music as well as a kickoff to Act 2 through some additional music during intermission. It’s a nice diversion, almost a palate cleanser between scenes as the audience prepares for their next dose of absurdity. On the creative side, Niclas Olson’s lighting and Chandler Garry’s sound do well in support here, while Michele Graves’ costume design is strong. A special recognition needs to go to Stage Manager Lily Oellerich, too. There are a lot of moving pieces in this play, multiple trunks to be moved and looked through, many courses of a pair of catered meals for an especially entertaining scene in Act 2, and those are just two examples. Lily’s work making sure everything is in place and that the show runs smoothly and with a pace that keeps up with Blake does not go unnoticed.
One Man, Two Guvnors is a farce in the classic sense. It’s a play that spins a web of untruths to protect its protagonist from being found out, and each strand is more absurd than the next. The Tacoma Little Theatre production is simply hilarious and with a cast led by a perfectly entertaining performance from Blake R. York as the “One Man”, it’s a laugh-a-minute experience that shouldn’t be missed.
Run For Your Wife (Bremerton Community Theatre)
Run For Your Wife, the 1983 comedy from Ray Clooney, tells the story of John Smith, a London cab driver, who gets mugged and ends up in the hospital, where some confusion about his address brings to light that he is married to two different women in two different towns. John has been able to get away with his bigamy as a result of his abnormal work schedule as a taxi driver along with precision in timing, making sure his visits with each of his wives is scheduled down to the minute. It’s only when he doesn’t come home that both wives start to get concerned. When police officers in both Wimbledon and Streatham start looking into the events around John’s accident and the confusion about his multiple addresses, things get even more complicated. And what does one do in a farce when pressure starts to mount and it seems like he’s about to be caught? Lie, of course. And lie again. And when his neighbor comes down to talk, he gets involved, too, and the lies stack up, identities get mistaken, and lines get crossed until John’s story goes completely off the rails and nobody, especially the audience, knows what is going to happen next.
The key to making this play work is all about the timing. And while the last few plays from director Dan Estes have been generally good, Run For Your Wife represents a return to form for Dan, casting a show with a group that plays their roles pitch perfectly, nailing the entrance and exit timing that are imperative here. It’s simply, but extremely creatively, set, which makes this work even more. Gary Fetterplace’s set represents both of John’s homes, one half of the stage representing the Wimbledon home and the other the Streatham one. The whole set has been done very creatively, and the scenes where wife Mary and wife Barbara are on the stage at the same time, but in their separate homes, are some of the best of the play. And as good as the set is overall, the work Rana Tan has done on the stage floor is just phenomenal. It’s so good, her work to make the hard stage appear as though it’s a soft carpet, I had to walk up to the stage during intermission just to see for myself that it wasn’t an actual carpet. Dan has assembled a cast that does everything right, with the possible exception of inconsistent accents from some of the actors, to make this production a good one, from the timing mentioned above, to the cadence of their delivery in their interactions, and through to the physical aspects of the humor they deliver throughout. It’s just very well done all around.
Leading this cast is John Smith himself, played fantastically by Carmen Pinto. Carmen is adept at expressing the chaos that becomes his life after his stay in the hospital, and when things go completely off the rails in Act 2, it’s Carmen that leads this cast through it. There’s a very Jack Lemmon-ish way about his mannerisms here, especially as the audience watches him concoct and spin tale after tale in a continuous effort to prevent each of his wives from finding out that he’s also married to the other. And his wives are equally good. Ruthann Saunders plays Mary Smith and Kristi Ann Jacobson plays Barbara Smith. Each of these actors brings her own comedic talent to bear in her portrayal, and to watch each go from concerned wife at the beginning of the story to frustrated and angry as things unfold in their own unique acting style is so fun. Run For Your Wife wouldn’t be the same, though, without Stanley Gardner, the lazy upstairs neighbor to John and Mary. Gary Fetterplace is Stanley in this version, and he’s brilliant, as his character gets roped into John’s world, taking on a number of personas in support of John’s . Gary’s ability to draw a laugh from an expression, a movement, or a pratfall, is on full display here. On the other side, living upstairs from John and Barbara is Matt Haver’s Bobby Franklin. Matt is funny here as well, though he doesn’t have as much stage time as his counterpart Gary. His Bobby has a huge part to play in Act 2 and I like Matt’s work here in a different kind of role than I’ve seen him in before. Rounding out the cast are MJ Jordan as the Newspaper Reporter along with Merrisa Ekman and Ted Schroeder as Detective Sergeants Troughton and Porterhouse respectively. Merrisa’s Troughton is on top of her game, seemingly wise to John’s game while Ted’s Porterhouse isn’t necessarily the brightest of the proverbial bulbs, but it is enjoyable to watch him try to process the information he’s given as the story progresses.
Farces are designed to be an escape, a way to spend some time away from the stress of our daily lives and laugh a little, or in the case of Run For Your Wife, a lot. There’s a certain trick to making it all work though, and Director Dan Estes seems to have dialed it in here, with a cast that clearly understands what they are portraying here, and one that has mastered the timing required to make something like this work.
For more information on One Man, Two Guvors and Tacoma Little Theatre, visit https://www.tacomalittletheatre.com/, and to learn more about Run For Your Wife at Bremerton Community Theatre, visit https://bctshows.com/. Both shows run through September 22 at their respective theaters.
Photo credit: Dennis K. Photography (TLT) / Kathy Berg (BCT)
