06
Jun
2016
I love Christopher Durang, and was very much looking forward to his 2013 Tony Award winner Vanya & Sonia & Masha & Spike, currently in production at the Richmond Hill Barn Theatre. Durang has been a successful playwright for more than 40 years, and although this comedy is less edgy and absurd than previous plays, and although I felt Durang’s writing went off-track in the second act, Friday’s production provided many laugh-out-loud, wiping-tears-away moments. I have not felt so just-plain-happy being in the theatre in quite a long time.
The Richmond Hill Barn Theatre's performance of Bingo at times feels like playing bingo - hoping for a letter and number combination that you don't quite get, but finding yourself pleasantly surprised when you make a full card by the end.
John VanDeWoestyne proves a capable center for the Richmond Hill Barn Theatre's The Odd Couple. Portraying playwright Neil Simon's slovenly divorcée Oscar Madison, VanDeWoestyne's comedic timing shines as he adeptly pauses here or rushes there in ways that increase his punchlines' comical impact. The actor never quite overcomes his natural poise and intelligence to fully sell the character, but his Oscar is also a bit funnier for those qualities; it's fun seeing this normally classy man speaking and acting like a disorderly bachelor. While there's plenty that's worthy of praise in director Mike Skiles' well-paced production, it's VanDeWoestyne who deserves extra credit for being the glue that holds it all together.
Character confusion makes for an enjoyable, lighthearted comedy in Richmond Hill Barn Theatre's current summer offering, Funny Valentines. And though the opening-night performance had a slow and somewhat shaky start in terms of line deliveries, the actors quickly settled into their roles and let their characters' quirks shine through.
To my recollection, I haven't yet been formally introduced to frequent Richmond Hill Barn Theatre performer Jackie Skiles, who plays the lead in the venue's current mystery/comedy Busybody. But it's nice to know that we have something in common. In Skiles' program biography, she lists Lavinia Hubbard in 2005's Another Part of the Forest as her favorite Richmond Hill role to date. That was my favorite Skiles role, too. Until now.
