In this wacky John Patrick comedy, it’s 1975 and a
famous actress leases a house in Vermont to write her autobiography. To shoo
away the annoying nosy neighbors, she invents a mad, homicidal Sister Sadie - herself in a fright wig bearing giant
scissors - to scare off visitors.
However, a local handyman falls for this
dynamic psycho, and some local ladies decide to bring the woman to a religious
rally to save her poor soul. When, in trying to get them all to leave
her alone Myra says her demented sibling has gone off to Boston, she comes
under suspicion of murder!
It’s a silly but fun show as Hollywood escapee Myra
(Diana Angelina as the only sane person in the town), hides out in Vermont to
write her memoirs. Well, as the neighbors arrive to welcome the newcomer this
town makes Peyton Place seem like paradise. There’s tall and kindly Reba (modestly personified by Ann Ryerson enamored of a traveling preacher); loquacious Cora, (a real oh-my-gosh Amanda Conlon full of wild gossip); Willa Mae, (the local soothsayer, Leda Siskind, mad as a hatter, who only predicts disasters), and the bearded goofy handyman, Piney (bashful, adorable but country-shrewd Jeffrey Winner). David Datz as Myra’s agent genially represents our calm, sane, kindly Hollywood world!!! And William Joseph Hill doubles as a manly sheriff and choreographer of the many quite daunting fights.
Director Larry Eisenberg pulls out all the slapstick
spots he can find before surrendering us to the happy ending. The late Playwright
John Patrick is best known for Teahouse
of the August Moon that garnered him the Pulitzer Prize and The Tony Award
for drama, as well as the screenplay for personal favorite Love is a Many Splendored Thing.
Produced by David Hunt Stafford and, as always at
Theatre 40, awesome production values include set by Jeff G. Rack, lighting by
Brandon Baruch, sound by Steve Shaw and costumes by Michèle Young. In Reuben
Cordova Theatre, 241 S Moreno Dr. Beverly Hills. Tickets: (310) 364-0535 or www.theatre40.org.