Photos by dean lapin
UP FOR LAUGHS. Scott Peterson and Justin Carleton have an animated moment in Lakewood Playhouse’s production of “How the Other Half Loves,” which runs through March 2.
Lakewood Playhouse is to be commended for taking a risk and departing from a regime of readily recognizable titles. Its latest offering, English playwright Alan Ayckbourn’s “How the Other Half Loves,” is a delightful bit of theatrical farce in which an incident of marital infidelity leads three couples into a sequence of lunatic events.
With sharply humorous dialog, action that borders on slapstick and a very clever merging of time and space, “How the Other Half Loves” manages to tickle the funny bone at the same time that it fascinates the brain.
The trouble begins on the morning after Fiona Foster (Laurie Sifford), a rich, older woman, has had an extramarital fling with Bob Phillips (Nathan Rice), the “office Romeo.” The pair concocts a story that ultimately draws the unwitting third couple – the Detweilers – into the turbulent eddies of the marriages of the Fosters and the Phillips.
The six cast members all turn in steadfast performances. Scott Peterson as Frank Foster starts the play off on a comedic note as he jogs in place while singing hokey tunes to his headphones and banging on a faulty egg timer. Good natured but scatterbrained, it is Frank with his faulty reasoning and his urge to try to fix things that propels much of the action.
As Fiona, Frank’s bored and wealthy wife, Sifford exudes a jaded yet regal air. Cara Roper, meanwhile, plays Teresa Phillips, the disheveled wife who has been cheated on. It is she who is the first to discern the infidelity that has taken place.
The cynically witty Bob Phillips is played by Rice, who is perhaps the most animated member of the cast. His antics delight the audience. At one point he leaps out at the flustered Mary wearing a towel for a cape. The Superman emblem is done in shaving cream on his bare chest.
Perhaps the most delightful performance is Adrienne Grieco’s portrayal of Mary Detweiler, the mousy and nervous wife of William (Justin Carleton), who finds the troubled waters that she has been swept into almost too much to bear. Indeed, being offered a cocktail almost causes her to lose what little poise she has.
What is most clever about the play is the way that time and space are collapsed. Two households intersect each other and dinner parties of two consecutive evenings are presented simultaneously. A mental juggling act is required on the part of the audience. At first the play is confusing but everyone soon gets the hang of things and everything rolls merrily along.
“How the Other Half Loves” is marked by any number of funny details (a fancy dinner served in conch shells for example) that add to the fun of the ride. On the other hand, the whole idea of having fun with infidelity makes the play feel somehow dated. Nevertheless, Lakewood Playhouse’s risk in departing from better-known standards of theater fare should be appreciated and supported.
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