Boy oh boy, do
they put the “Southern” in Southern Hospitality. From especially twangy dialects, to glittery
star-spangled cowgirls, to biscuits and ham galore, the script leaves no stone
south of the Mason-Dixon line unturned. Every line feels like part of the set
up for a big head-shaking, groaning joke that either one identifies with or one
doesn’t. If you don’t, then perhaps this show is not the one for you.
The playwrights
(Jones, Hope, & Wooten) seem to enjoy continuous success as they churn out
their formulaic “comedies” one right on top of the other. If I am honest, I
don’t understand the draw. As long as community theatres continue to produce
their stuff, they will continue to write it. It would be one thing if they were
really smart about their dumb humor. If they took all of the energy they’ve
spent writing 15+ plays and focused it into 3-4, perhaps the quality of all of
them would be of a higher level. Unfortunately that is not the case.
However,
Director Justin Bulla does a wonderful job of taking the less than stellar
script and making it a fun and visually engaging experience for the patrons of
Stained Glass Playhouse. There is always something going on, though sometimes
to the point of upstaging, and some of the smallest choices end up producing
the biggest laughs. It is clear that he put a lot of time into working with his
cast. His note in the playbill says that there are some “newbies” in the cast,
but after he was done with them I could not honestly tell you who they were
based on the performances (though they do reveal themselves in their cast
bios).
Kay Shelton as
the irascible and icy aunt, Iney Dubberly, stole the show with her dead-pan
deliveries of her especially cruel dialogue. I enjoyed her so much that, when a
certain plot point occurs, I was left disappointed that I wouldn’t be seeing so
much of her needling the other characters.
April Marshall
plays the larger-than-life Rhonda, owner of the local Dairy Dog. Her laughter
and enthusiasm on stage were truly infectious and I enjoyed every minute she
appeared, especially her incident with a hoop skirt, though I wouldn’t have done
that particular gag a second time.
I wanted to see
more of both Miss Geneva Musgrave, played by Peggie Dull, and Raynerd Chism,
played by Logan Chidester. Miss Geneva is loud, proud, and very much in charge
of any room she graces with her presence, driving John Curtis Butner (Mark
Craddock) to near insanity with her constant demands for perfection in their
attempt at a Civil War re-enactment. And Raynerd Chism’s constant refrain of “I
just LOVE Fayro” became more and more enjoyable as the scenes around him
devolved.
The costumes by
Sylvia Tyndall were fine, though at times made one uncertain if they were
watching “Grease” or attending a rodeo. And one particular gag involving Rhonda
Lynn would have been made much more enjoyable if it ended with a set of bloomers
or other period undergarments rather than the green shorts that were chosen.
The lights necessary for this show were minimal, though during scenes where
there was a “full wash”, there did appear to be a large dark spot dead-center
of the stage, which was somewhat distracting and could be easily fixed.
I felt the set,
which does not have a designer listed, did not fully support the action of the
show. While the director attempted to make the best of what he was given, the
show would have benefited from a smaller house interior that didn’t take up the
entire stage, particularly since half or more of the scenes do not occur within
the house. Also, I kept getting a glimpse of a pastoral scene painted on the
back wall of the stage, which would’ve been a great background for the scenes
during the re-enactment, rather than trying to focus light in a small pool on a
very small stage, which wasn’t fully effective. A lot of the exits on the stage
were unnecessary, and the black curtains that were hung everywhere were
distracting and at least one, perhaps two, were also unnecessary as they didn’t
really block the back stage area as they were intended to. Perhaps if they
placed them further offstage, at different angles, it wouldn’t detract from the
action on stage. Or, if they insist on having the curtains onstage, perhaps put
a beaded curtain in front of the black one, or something that is clearly not
black instead and would more likely be found inside of a home. Either option
would have drawn my eye less and let me enjoy the performance more.
All in all, ‘Southern Hospitality’ was a fairly enjoyable show, with the cast as
the real standouts. They clearly enjoyed working together and it was more a
labor of love than anything. If Southern comedy is something you enjoy, then it would be worth your time
to catch this show. They have seven more performances, running May 8, 9, 15
&16 at 8pm and May 3, 10, & 17 at 3pm. Tickets are $16 for adults, with
discounts for Seniors and Students, and can be purchased at the door, by
calling 661-4949, or visiting their website at www.stainedglassplayhouse.org.
