author: Chris Pence
Do Not Be Stingy With The Blintzes: You Can’t Take It With You at Spotlighters Theatre
Now, stop me if you’ve heard this one: What do you get when you cross a tax-evading retiree, a wannabe playwright, a fireworks-obsessed husband and his best friend, a dancer, a xylophonist, a jealous housekeeper, a drunken actor, two Russians, a Scot, a Wall Street bigwig and his wife, some star-crossed lovers,
Do you long for a simpler time? A time when things weren’t so complicated? A time, perhaps, when simpler virtues— things like candlelight, good manners, and poisoned wine were on offer in every Old Spinster household? Vagabond Players has got just the show for you, my friends, but whatever you do— DO NOT DRINK THE WINE! That tried and true comedic classic, Arsenic and Old Lace, written by Joseph Kesselring, is now appearing at Vags under the direction of Katie Sheldon and it’s a doozy!
“…to think of people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave…”
Christmas starts in October for everyone else, so why not use a lesser-recognized Dickens’ quote to welcome in the latest show of Season 61 at Spotlighters? (And if you need more Dickens in your life, beyond this hook-quote, be sure to book your tickets for the cherished annual performance of Phil Gallagher’s one-man A Christmas Carol coming this December) But this particular quote feels apropos for Outward Bound,
Whenever
I am assigned to review a show presented by Stand Up For… Theatre, I know for
sure that I am going to be challenged to examine my conscience. For years now SUFT,
the theatrical division of Erase Hate Through Art, has been giving us
productions that challenge us to not only look at the world around us and the
role we play in it, but our perception of the madness that surrounds us.
Every holiday season I search the idiot box for that feel-good show of the year. Little did I know that this year I would find it at the Chesapeake Arts Center, in Stand Up For…Theatre’s La Cage Aux Folles. Like Macy’s, Best Buy, SUFT brings Christmas early; only instead of a big box they use a black box.
Before I dive into the cast, crew, and show itself,