In its 87th season of continual running productions, Long Beach Playhouse proudly presents one of the great Noel Coward’s earliest hits, the terribly funny 1925 comedy, Hay Fever. With a houseful of absurdly opulent characters, director James Rice heightens the level of every scene as he guides his talented cast through an avalanche of hysterical events forcing the actors to push past the boundaries of social etiquette.
In its 87th season of continual running productions, Long Beach Playhouse proudly presents one of the great Noel Coward’s earliest hits, the terribly funny 1925 comedy, Hay Fever. With a houseful of absurdly opulent characters, director James Rice heightens the level of every scene as he guides his talented cast through an avalanche of hysterical events forcing the actors to push past the boundaries of social etiquette. What could be considered a paradigm for contemporary sitcoms, Hay Fever raises the roof on a weekend in the English countryside, and the cast’s deliberately overly-exaggerated acting, particularly, Sarah Genevieve Green as matriarch, Judith Bliss, is nothing to sneeze at – hay fever or not. The show itself makes no profound statement, has no deep meaning, nor offers a philosophical declaration about life, and perhaps this is what makes it such a timeless revelation in the comedy world. Hay Fever is simply a frothy profundity of laughing at the human condition and the silliness of learning what NOT to do when entertaining weekend guests. Unbeknownst to each other, the self-absorbed Bliss family members have each invited a guest to spend the weekend with them at the family countryside home. Judith, the retired West End actress of a certain age who is foolishly contemplating a comeback, has invited her fan, Sandy Tyrell (Bryan Brophy), a strapping young boxer to the scene for a few bouts of flirtatious fun. Next, comes in son, Simon’s (Lee Samuel Tanng) visitor and crush, Myra Arundel (Eva Dailey), the sophisticated vamp of the crowd. Judith is not particularly pleased to learn that her daughter, Sorel (Anissa Leeanna Loer) has invited a diplomat, Richard Greatham (Dean Figone) for the weekend as well. But, rounding out the guest list and “love triangle” is Judith’s novelist husband, David’s (Stephan Alan Carver) flapper gal friend, Jackie Coryton (Tiffany Toney) for “research” on his novel. Clara (Susie McCarthy) who was once Judith’s dresser, takes her place as the family’s maid, and McCarthy’s slapdash-ish take on her character is the perfect topper to the outrageously self-centered clan. Although some of the cast’s cut glass English accents could use a big of polishing, Brophy’s Sandy speaks every line as though he has a mouth full of oversized marbles, and while it takes a good ear to recognize what he is saying, his horrific accent complements his comical pony-like galloping about from place to place. Whether she is sweeping into a room with a swanlike arrogance or removing her “wellies” with style and grace, Green nails her character’s inability to see past center stage. Overall, the entire ensemble is tight, and as Sorel and Simon, Tanng and Loer hover around Judith like warm beer at an English pub. Loer is everything you should expect from an ostentatiously beautiful and completely spoiled grown up brat of a daughter. Other must mentions are Tanng as Simon, McCarthy as Clara, Carver as David, Figone as Richard, Brophy as Sandy, Dailey as Myra, Toner as Jackie. A blissful weekend at the Bliss Estate, not so much; however, a few hours at LBP’s Mainstage production of Hay Fever, pure laughable bliss. Director: James Rice; Set Design: Naomi Kasahara; Light Design: Donny Jackson; Sound Design: Julie Moore; Costume Design: Donna Fritsche. Long Beach Playhouse 5021 E. Anaheim St., Long Beach, CA 90804. Phone 562 494.1014 option 1. www.lbplayhouse.org. Hay Fever runs Dec. 5.
