5 Shorts with Shortcake, a Review of the Plays and Actors
The Community Circle Players (CCP) has always had the vision of bringing sophisticated wide-ranging plays to the SaddleBrooke audience and since 2016 have delivered. Comedy often makes its appearance but CCP has delivered serious drama (Witness for the Prosecution) and plays that are directly targeted to the over 65 Saddlebrook audience. The matinee performance was ideal for our older residents and a refreshing dessert (Shortcake!) was provided between the plays. A bravo performance by the CCP and its highly talented cast and crew. Here is our impression of the plays:
The _Urloined Letter
This menus’ offerings included one comedy set piece, the _urloined P, which featured actor Susie Paine (Trouble Maecker) as a singer and performer who claims she can no longer pronounce the letter “P”. She engages detective Bullit Nick Bullit, (Ron Flanders) as her Private Eye to recover her lost “Ps”.
The play text is a satire on 50ish movies and plays that featured “Continental Ops” written by Dashiell Hammett or the Sam Spade character in The Maltese Falcon.
Despite the over the top premise, the play works due to the verbal dexterity of actor Susie Paine, who must deliver multiple lines that are “P” centric (think pickled peppers…) in order to keep the premise plausible to the audience. It was a fun play and the denouement revealed the defining characteristics of many real actors, egocentricity. Directed by Susan Sterling.
The Complaint Department
Another light comedy with a forlorn customer attempting to return a rather unusual medical device because it does not work. The difficulty in trying to prove it is inoperable in a time where customer service was more likely to exist and things were not so cheap that tossing the defective version and buying a replacement was not a viable option. Added to the tension was the moral rectitude that existed at the time (mid 50’s to early 60’s) to discuss delicate medical matters with anyone outside of a doctor. The players pulled it off with the deft direction of Carol Henry and a cast that stayed in sync during the production.
Saint Vicky Can Help
Turning to a more serious tone, a divorcee who by all outward standards had achieved success in life and business. Very openly laments her longing for male companionship. Her hair styling salon is rich with customers and she makes known her desires. A customer suggests an offer of prayer to an obscure Saint Vicky. Maureen the owner, played by TJ Fletcher, is not enamored of the idea, feeling herself not particularly bent toward religious piety or belief. But what the heck? Her plea is met by the appearance of Saint Vicky, played by Lydia-Blancato-Strickland and the two engage in a long series of dialogs that covers many existential questions related to the need for human contact. The dialog is pointed and hits many emotional soft spots that female audience members more readily related.
The key to this play was believing the depth of feeling and internal journey that its protagonist is taking. This requires tricky directing so that the lines can be delivered in such a way that the audience is swept along on the journey. Experienced and talented Director Shawne Cryderman brought out the inner feelings of her players without devolving into mawkish overtones.
COMPOS MENTIS
A choice that nearly all SaddleBrooke residents may face in the near(?) future is the need for more physical care that we can no longer provide for ourselves or of moving into, an assisted living facility. Directed adroitly by Carol Henry, the players bring home the list of choices that the calendar forces upon us all who are aging in place.
The protagonists are Robert Langford (Peter Frank) and his spouse Alese Langford (Denise Edwards) are getting a tour of a possible living facility. The truth is, one of the two really does not want to make the move and she\he does their best to thwart an actual move.
The dialog confronted the reality of aging when both spouses are sentient and have the means to make or not make this choice. Too timely? Perhaps.
THE BLOOMING OF IVY
As a finale, the redoutable Susan Sterling directed two fine actors. Sally Speith as Ivy, and Jim Burke as George, whose characters are long standing neighbors on adjoining farms, and are friends in life and in business. Ivy lost her spouse at 40 and turned her energy toward her children and running the farm. George is recently widowed and still has a strong longing to have a woman in his life-emotionally and physically. Ivy has a daughter who frequently checks on her mother via cell phone and adds a narrative to the play.
The denouement has Ivy accepting the fact that she is now 70, the end being nearer than the beginning and decides to tell her daughter she is going for a car ride (with George) and does not know where it will end…
For Saddlebrooke residents, the need for human connection, no matter what age we might be, was brought home.
NEXT UP!
The Community Circle Players will be presenting the Neil Simon comedy “Rumors”. Performances will be a dinner theatre and produced Feb. 27, 28 and March 1 at the MV Ballroom.
