[NEohioPAL]Review of "The Man Who Came to Dinner" at BST

[FSternfeld at aol.com]

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'Man Who Came to Dinner' is timeless

Ellen Darling
Berea News Sun
8-8-02

Fifty years ago, I played in a resident repertory summer stock company, where 
we played eight shows a season. I was there five summers (that's 40 shows, 
folks) and there I learned more about theater than in a whole lifetime before 
and after.

It is a fact that as we go back in our memory, the really good experiences 
are usually blown up and exaggerated way out of proportion to the fact. So 
when I tell you that the Berea Summer Theatre's production of "The Man Who 
Came to Dinner" by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman, now  playing in the 
William A. Allman Theatre, is better than the one I played in 50 years ago, 
you know it has to be the greatest compliment ever paid by a critic. 

The real mystery here is how a particular clutch of comedies of the late '30s 
and '40s just go on and on and on ("You Can't Take It With You"  "Arsenic and 
Old Lace," etc.) and never seem to grow old or out-dated.  On the contrary, 
they are just as fresh and vibrant and funny as they ever were, even though 
references to people and events are foreign to half the audience; it doesn't 
seem to matter.  And I'm talking about all ages.  A group of children in the 
front row were having a ball with it, while the gray-haired crowd was lapping 
it up like a cat at a saucer of tuna fish.

The plot involves a world-renowned personality, Sheridan Whiteside, who, 
while making an appearance in a small town in Ohio, slips on the ice in front 
of the home of conservative middle-class Mr. And Mrs. Ernest Stanley, and is 
confined in a wheel chair in their home for several weeks - over Christmas 
yet.

The irascible and arrogant invalid takes over the household like gangbusters, 
making the living room his own personal domain with exclusive use of the 
telephone, the household help, the menu, and confining the Stanleys to their 
upstairs bedrooms.

In the weeks that follow, the Stanleys are subjected to a group of convicts 
as luncheon guests (complete with stripes, handcuffs and leg chains), gifts 
of a cage of live penguins, a box of cockroaches and an Egyptian mummy case, 
plus a string of colorful, eccentric, egomaniacs, the like of which you have 
never seen.

In addition, Whiteside manages to manipulate the help, misguide the Stanley 
children, tries to break up a romance between his ever-faithful secretary and 
a local newspaperman, and in other words, creates complete mayhem.

Director Fred Sternfeld has assembled an amazing cast for this comedy 
extravaganza.  Equity actor Dudley Swetland is made for the role of Sheridan 
Whiteside.  I just can't begin to explain how good he is.

Others who deserve special mention for their outstanding performances are 
Barbara Corlette as Lorraine Sheldon, the sexy screen queen, imported by 
"Sherry" for some of his dirty work; Kevin Joseph Kelly as Beverly Carlton, 
an egotistical and very funny friend, and best of all, Nick Koesters as Banjo 
(a take-off on Harpo Marx), whose nonstop outrageous antics keep you in 
stitches.

There are always one or two so-called straight roles and often in the context 
of a mad maelstrom like this one, these are the most difficult roles to play. 
 Meg Chamberlain as Maggie Cutler, Whiteside's loyal secretary, and Kip 
Thomas as Bert Jefferson, the small-town newspaperman, do the job well in 
trying to keep us sane.  These are only a few of the tremendous roles, each 
of them perfectly cast.

The set for this play has to be, by tradition, pretty conventional.  However, 
designer Laura Carlson-Tarantowski, does well in making it authentic and 
attractive.  Jeffrey Smart, as usual, comes through with fantastic costumes, 
making good use of the contrast between the conservative period costuming of 
the early '40s and the colorful extravagance of characters such as Banjo and 
Lorraine.

"The Man Who Came to Dinner" is as funny and entertaining as they come, no 
matter how old it is or how old you are.  "The Man" is truly a "man for all 
seasons."

"The Man Who Came to Dinner" plays Wednesdays through Saturday at 8 p.m. and 
Sundays at 2 p.m. through Aug. 17.  Call (440) 826-2240



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<HTML><FONT FACE=arial,helvetica><FONT  SIZE=6 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" FACE="Arial" LANG="0"><B>'Man Who Came to Dinner' is timeless</FONT><FONT  COLOR="#000000" style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffffff" SIZE=3 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" FACE="Arial" LANG="0"><BR>
<BR>
Ellen Darling<BR>
Berea News Sun<BR>
8-8-02<BR>
<BR>
</B>Fifty years ago, I played in a resident repertory summer stock company, where we played eight shows a season. I was there five summers (that's 40 shows, folks) and there I learned more about theater than in a whole lifetime before and after.<BR>
<BR>
It is a fact that as we go back in our memory, the really good experiences are usually blown up and exaggerated way out of proportion to the fact. So when I tell you that the Berea Summer Theatre's production of "The Man Who Came to Dinner" by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman, now  playing in the William A. Allman Theatre, is better than the one I played in 50 years ago, you know it has to be the greatest compliment ever paid by a critic. <BR>
<BR>
The real mystery here is how a particular clutch of comedies of the late '30s and '40s just go on and on and on ("You Can't Take It With You"  "Arsenic and Old Lace," etc.) and never seem to grow old or out-dated.  On the contrary, they are just as fresh and vibrant and funny as they ever were, even though references to people and events are foreign to half the audience; it doesn't seem to matter.  And I'm talking about all ages.  A group of children in the front row were having a ball with it, while the gray-haired crowd was lapping it up like a cat at a saucer of tuna fish.<BR>
<BR>
The plot involves a world-renowned personality, Sheridan Whiteside, who, while making an appearance in a small town in Ohio, slips on the ice in front of the home of conservative middle-class Mr. And Mrs. Ernest Stanley, and is confined in a wheel chair in their home for several weeks - over Christmas yet.<BR>
<BR>
The irascible and arrogant invalid takes over the household like gangbusters, making the living room his own personal domain with exclusive use of the telephone, the household help, the menu, and confining the Stanleys to their upstairs bedrooms.<BR>
<BR>
In the weeks that follow, the Stanleys are subjected to a group of convicts as luncheon guests (complete with stripes, handcuffs and leg chains), gifts of a cage of live penguins, a box of cockroaches and an Egyptian mummy case, plus a string of colorful, eccentric, egomaniacs, the like of which you have never seen.<BR>
<BR>
In addition, Whiteside manages to manipulate the help, misguide the Stanley children, tries to break up a romance between his ever-faithful secretary and a local newspaperman, and in other words, creates complete mayhem.<BR>
<BR>
Director Fred Sternfeld has assembled an amazing cast for this comedy extravaganza.  Equity actor Dudley Swetland is made for the role of Sheridan Whiteside.  I just can't begin to explain how good he is.<BR>
<BR>
Others who deserve special mention for their outstanding performances are Barbara Corlette as Lorraine Sheldon, the sexy screen queen, imported by "Sherry" for some of his dirty work; Kevin Joseph Kelly as Beverly Carlton, an egotistical and very funny friend, and best of all, Nick Koesters as Banjo (a take-off on Harpo Marx), whose nonstop outrageous antics keep you in stitches.<BR>
<BR>
There are always one or two so-called straight roles and often in the context of a mad maelstrom like this one, these are the most difficult roles to play.  Meg Chamberlain as Maggie Cutler, Whiteside's loyal secretary, and Kip Thomas as Bert Jefferson, the small-town newspaperman, do the job well in trying to keep us sane.  These are only a few of the tremendous roles, each of them perfectly cast.<BR>
<BR>
The set for this play has to be, by tradition, pretty conventional.  However, designer Laura Carlson-Tarantowski, does well in making it authentic and attractive.  Jeffrey Smart, as usual, comes through with fantastic costumes, making good use of the contrast between the conservative period costuming of the early '40s and the colorful extravagance of characters such as Banjo and Lorraine.<BR>
<BR>
"The Man Who Came to Dinner" is as funny and entertaining as they come, no matter how old it is or how old you are.  "The Man" is truly a "man for all seasons."<BR>
<BR>
<I>"The Man Who Came to Dinner" plays Wednesdays through Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. through Aug. 17.  Call (440) 826-2240</I><BR>
<BR>
<BR>
</FONT></HTML>
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