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EOU Theatre presents comedy - ‘You Can’t Take It With You’
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“This Pulitzer Prize-winning classic has been entertaining audiences for more than 70 years, and our version is sure to do the same for our La Grande audience,” said Kenn Wheeler, production director. The hysterical farce, written by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman first opened in 1937, only eight years after the stock market crash that started the Great Depression. In 1938 the play was made into a film directed by the great Frank Capra and went on to win two Academy Awards, including the best picture for that year. “America was still coming out of the depression and audiences wanted to be able to laugh,” Wheeler said. “Kaufman and Hart delivered on this need by creating four delightful plays: ‘You Can’t Take It With You,’ ‘I’d Rather Be Right,’ ‘The Man Who Came to Dinner’ and ‘George Washington Slept Here.’” “Each dealt with common identifiable families but was also sprinkled with characters that lampooned contemporary celebrities and included the latest news of the day. We look back on them as historical pieces but they were very current when first produced,” Wheeler said. The story of “You Can’t Take It With You” deals with the Sycamore family led by the grandfather, Martin Vanderhoff. At first the Sycamore family seems a little mad, but it is not long before the audience realizes that if they are mad, then the rest of the world is madder. In contrast to these delightful people is the unhappy Kirby family. Tony, their attractive young son, falls in love with Alice Sycamore and brings his parents to dine at the Sycamore house on the wrong evening. The shock sustained by Mr. and Mrs. Kirby, who are invited to eat cheap food, play silly games and are ultimately arrested for “the illegal manufacture of fireworks,” shows Alice that marriage with Tony is out of the question. The Sycamores find it hard to understand Alice’s point of view. Tony knows the Sycamores really care for each other, while his own family is the one that’s crazy. In the end, Mr. Kirby is converted to the happy madness of the Sycamores, (particularly because he happens in during a visit by the ex-Grand Duchess of Russia, Olga Katrina, who is currently earning her living as a waitress). All ends happily with the two families sitting down as one to enjoy a family feast. The EOU cast includes Ryan Shearer as Grandpa Vanderhoff, and Fune Tautala and Amanda Slippy as the young lovers, Alice Sycamore and Tony Kirby. Kiel Fauske and Jessica Bowles play Alice’s parents, Paul and Penny, while Mr. and Mrs. Kirby are played by Brian Wallis and Sarah Pitney. Other people who live with or visit the Sycamore household include Leslie Croghan as Alice’s sister, Essie; Tristan Stufflebeam as Essie’s husband, Ed; Jenn Sasser as the family maid, Rheba; and Matt Wells as her boyfriend, Donald. Seth Yohnka plays Paul’s sidekick, Mr. DePinna, and Jordan Wallis is Essie’s Russian ballet instructor, Boris Kolenkhov. Rounding out the 19-member cast is Buck Potter as the income tax man, Mr. Henderson, Geneveive Ehart as the drunken actress, Gay Wellington, Alan Arnson, Jeff Press and Woodt McCall as J-Men and Hannah Rose Mueller as The Grand Duchess Olga Katrina. The production plays March 6, 7, 8, 13, 14 and 15 at 8 p.m. each evening. On March 8 and 13 there will be matinee performances at 2 p.m. “Because the Schwarz Theatre is small, we encourage everyone to call ahead for reservations,” Wheeler said. “You certainly don’t want to take the chance of missing this wonderful evening of family entertainment. This is one that the entire family will enjoy!” Tickets are $7 general admission and $5 for EOU students and senior citizens. Reservations can be made by calling 962-3757. |
