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Storms Can’t Drown Out Laughter in HSRT Opener
By Kurt Van Koevering
The Zeeland Record
June 25, 2009
Heavy rains pelting the roof and rumbling thunder gave an ominous air to Hope Summer Repertory Theatre’s (HSRT) season-opening production of Room Service on Friday evening, June 19, but the response of the audience inside DeWitt Cultural Center was continuous laughter. A cast of actors determined that the show would go on kept the humorous shenanigans flowing smoothly, drowning out any thoughts about rising floodwaters outside.
The comedy once captured on film by the Marx Brothers unfolds in a Times Square hotel room where headstrong producer Gordon Miller contends with 19 hungry actors and spiraling room-service bills while trying to land an elusive financial backer for his newest Broadway venture. Actors Equity Association member Stephen Mailer infuses Miller with a suave, smooth demeanor that is put to the test when the show’s writer and hotel owner show up, seeking the money promised for their services. The comedy is fueled by the cunning producer’s finagling as tries to duck his bill collectors and still salvage his theatrical production.
Among those who fall for Miller’s craftiness is writer Leo Davis, brought to life by Teddy Yudain. Davis arrives in New York penniless and tries to collect the funds owed him, but instead becomes involved in the producer’s scheme to find a financial backer. Yudain’s facial expressions and lanky movement create a character who is easily manipulated by his peers. In one particularly funny scene, Miller and the hotel’s business emissary, Gregory Wagner (portrayed by Chip DuFord), manipulate Davis’ hands to facilitate an argument between them while Yudain conveys utter confusion in his expressions.
Torn between helping Miller, who also happens to be his brother-in-law, and working as the hotel manager is Joseph Gribble, played by Equity Guest Artist Jonathan Spivey. Gribble is faced with the dilemma of either losing the money that he invested in the play or losing his job for failing to collect on his brother-in-law’s debts. Spivey expertly captures the emotions of the neurotic hotel manager with the shaking of his arms and body and an occasional eye twitch, making everyone aware that is uncomfortable with the scene unfolding around him.
More madcap chaos enters the equation when Wagner shows the extent of his greed by trying to collect the money owed by the producer while simultaneously pursuing his desire to serve as the play’s banker. As with many of the characters he has portrayed during his 16-year run in HSRT, DuFord excels as a loudmouth buffoon who on more than one occasion should have kept his mouth shut.
Also doing their fair share to keep the laughter rolling were supporting actors Michael Hanson as director Harry Binion and Jason Rojas as the producer’s assistant, Faker Englund. The actors’ eccentric, over-the-top portrayals of their characters clue the audience into the fact that this isn’t the first time the producer has scrambled to secure financial footing for his stage shows.
The cast and director David Colacci are to be commended for making Room Service so entertaining that it can even commandeer attention away from a weather crisis.
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