By Eva Trieger
SAN DIEGO — Paul Slade Smith’s over-the-top comedy depicts the story of a sting gone very awry. Under Robert May’s brilliant direction, the actors find themselves making strange bedfellows, donning and doffing clothes, and wishing they had the Duolingo app.
When two police officers, Billie Dwyer (Brittany Adriana Carrillo) and Eric Sheridan (Danny Lovelle) set up a sting in the adjacent hotel room, they hope to catch Mayor Weekly (Danny Campbell) with the help of the new accountant, Karen Brown (Melanie Mino). Sixteen million dollars are missing from the town’s budget and all signs point to the mayor.
As in every good farce, there are double entendres, slamming doors, odd and reshuffled pairings and lots of miscommunication. In Unnecessary Farce, these qualities are all ramped up to the highest degree. The cast of characters are caricatures of themselves. The repentant hit man, Agent Frank (Robin Thompson), the angry, incomprehensible Scotsman, Todd (Nick Siljander), inept cops and the sweet and innocuous mayor’s wife, Mary (Kat Fitzpatrick). And of course, there are donuts!
Dennis Floyd’s set design of identical mirror image hotel rooms, “small, yet somehow not small enough” was replete with eight doors, each receiving a thorough work out as the cops, hit men, Mayor and lovers race back and forth between the two. Sometimes the doors act as barriers, other times as weapons!
And what dragnet is complete without video? The chief has given the officers explicit directions on the handling of this case, and handle it they shall. Billie was not exactly top in her Academy class and has yet to master firearms or handcuffs but she makes up for it in heart. Her partner, Eric, is a bumbling wimpy sort of fellow, who lacks the chutzpah to intimidate. Agent Frank’s melodramatic delivery is beautifully complemented by the bagpipes-playing killer, Todd. Mayor Weekly appears to be ignorant but tolerant of all of the aberrant compromising positions in which he finds the new accountant and several others.
What makes this show work so well is, as Steve Martin once said, “ti….ming.” The rapid fire mayhem and snafus snowball into one delightful, hilarious romp. The Scripps Ranch Theatre audience clearly enjoyed this fast paced comedy with a supremely talented cast. The production crew was also comprised of many top notch folks from San Diego, including Producer Ruth Russell, Costume Designer, Marcene Drysdale, and Fight Director Chris Williams.
Scripps Ranch Theatre brings us this fun, silly laugh-a-minute show at just the right time. We can all use something light, silly and romantic. Donuts anyone?
Unnecessary Farce will run through June 15. Tickets may be purchased online at scrippsranchtheatre.org or by phone 858.395.0573
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Eva Trieger is a freelance writer specializing in the coverage of the arts.