While watching Der- by Dinner Playhouse’s production of “Weekend Comedy,” I quickly no- ticed the likeness of Sam Bobrick’s slapstick style of writing to his most notable creation “Saved by the Bell,” an old teen- ager favorite.
The phraseology is essentially alike, but the appeal is definitely intended for the graceful time-fighters.
Written with his wife and playwright Jeanne Bobrick, “Weekend Comedy” is a cheesy, scripted romantic come- dy about a middle-aged couple who get-away for the weekend to a cabin in the Catskills, only to find out that after they get there, it has also been rented to a much younger couple in their 20s. Quickly agreeing to share the cabin for the weekend, the 30-year age gap between the two couples sets the tone, and a battle of the generations begins. In cheap sitcom fashion, playing the part of middle-aged wife Peggy was the delightful Janet Essenpreis, who pulls it off with the required elegance as she intends for a romantic, sex-filled weekend with her bar- baric and uninterested husband, Frank, played by the crowd favorite David Myers.
Upon their arrival, Peggy wastes no time changing into something more comfortable and begins enticing Frank on the couch when the young, vibrant lovers, Tony and Jill, played by Brian Bowman and Lex- ie Dorsett, walk in on the
awkward situation. Tony and Jill’s displays of affection is about as opposite to Frank and Peggy’s 23- year marriage routine as one can get, but immediately the discord begins a constant array of jabs and quick-witted come- backs, with insults landing in all four corners. For about the next hour and a half the tennis match ensued, the serve constantly changing hands and the audience shifting with every return. Act II opens up where the first let off, with the score even going into the final match.
The intimacy of the playhouse with its stage in the round was somewhat cramped, but the seasoned actors made it work using the entire
theater to project an at- mosphere that played well to the audiences imaginations, as if we were looking in the cab- in window waiting to be invited in.
The script may be a bit shallow and the jokes somewhat predictable, but don’t let that stop you. The acting is topnotch.
Playing slapstick isn’t an easy task, but these four actors can perform their routine with the best of them.
“Weekend Comedy” runs until Feb. 20, with evening shows Tuesday through Sunday and matinee shows on Sun- day and Wednesday.
Get show times and ticket prices by calling the ticket office at 812- 288-8281 or online at www.derbydinner.com.
By STEVE NICHOLS
Staff
stevnich@ius.edu