comedy

Bewitching comedy at Buck Creek

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By John Lyle Belden

If you had the power to acquire anything you desired, when you get it, is it truly yours? Now, change that to “any-one.”

Buck Creek Players puts a little spooky in Spring with their production of the classic comedy, “Bell Book and Candle,” by John Van Druten. If the story of genuine spellcasting witches living among us looks familiar, the 1950 play (and the 1958 film version) was part of the inspiration for the hit TV sitcom “Bewitched.”

On Christmas Eve in 1950s New York, Gillian Holroyd (Anna Spack), the more powerful and practical of her witchy clan, notices a tenant of her building, Shep Henderson (Josh Rooks), is quite handsome. Upon finding out from silly Aunt Queenie (Nancy Laudeman) that Shep will soon be engaged to a woman Gillian has hated since they were schoolmates, she decides powerful magic to ensnare him will be worth the risk. But first, Gillian’s equally carefree brother Nicky (Ben Jones) and Queenie are there to exchange gifts. His to them are copies of non-witch Sidney Redlitch’s latest book “Magic in Mexico,” so the witches and warlock can mock it. But knowing Shep, a publisher, wants to work with Redlitch (Jeremy Teipen), they use the photo on the book jacket to cast a summoning spell.

With a little help from feline familiar Pyewacket, the magic is set into motion, and love, or something like it, is in the air. Calling off his engagement, Shep seems contented in Gillian’s arms, and he’s poised to work with Redlitch on his book about witches in the Big Apple. However, as anyone familiar (pardon the pun) with witchlore in any medium (sorry, can’t help it) knows that when significant energy goes out, who knows how it will come back.

Suddenly, Shep is confused, overwhelmed, and proposing marriage. Also, it turns out Nicky is helping Redlitch in exchange for drawing illustrations, and that Nicky and Queenie have taken him around the NYC magickal community. For Gillian, who takes her spellwork seriously, and had only wanted Shep for a good time, this could spell – I mean, lead to – disaster! And on top of it all, she’s starting to develop strange new feelings; this could cost her far more than she ever anticipated.

Directed by Mel DeVito, the rom-com that helped bring us Samantha, Sabrina, and arguably the “Charmed” sisters, is truly a bewitching delight.

Rooks, stepping into the shoes of the likes of Rex Harrison and Jimmy Stewart, gives us another example of the likable everyman character he is gaining mastery of. His constantly conflicted soul is plain for all to see, feeling put-upon by outside forces while never entirely yielding his inner strength. Spack is commanding without being bossy, clearly the woman in charge, even when things start to go sideways. Queenie, who only recently embraced her powers, is played by Laudeman as both the “cool aunt” and a little girl enjoying her new toys – which makes her both fun and, in Gillian’s mind, in need of restraint. Jones (who admits to using Paul Lynde as a touchstone) presents Nicky as practically giddy at any chance to wield some powers. A practiced warlock, he only lets Gillian limit him to a degree. Teipen, our other “mortal” in the cast, goes from drunkenly taking it all as a gag (he was summoned from a Christmas party) to soberly seeing he’s in over his depth in genuine occult activity.

Pyewacket is a clever rather life-like animatronic, moving and mewing precisely on cue. Without seeing a special credit for the kitty, I’ll note that props are by DeVito and Suzi Brown. Costumes, an eclectic mix of conservative, wild, and glamorous, as needed, are by Tiffany Wilson. Rich Laudeman is stage manager.

Fun and enchanting, see “Bell, Book and Candle” this Friday through Sunday, April 5-7 at Buck Creek Playhouse, 11150 Southeast Ave. (Acton Road Exit off I-74), Indianapolis, or the Witches might not bring back the Sun after they blot it out on the 8th. Tickets at buckcreekplayers.com.

Going ‘Wrong’ goes right in Carmel

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By John Lyle Belden

Wendy and I saw two different productions of “The Play That Goes Wrong” this past weekend, and from what we witnessed we would like to make this point: All of the mishaps involved throughout the show are meant to be there. You are not witnessing a very poor performance. Laugh along and enjoy all of the goofiness. Do NOT leave at intermission! That said, let’s get to the actual review. I am reviewing the production by Carmel Apprentice Theatre at (naturally) The Cat.

In a way, this is a perfect show for this company as its productions provide a learning experience for new and out-of-practice theatre folk, mentored by and working with community theatre regulars. Thus, when anything, from a spoken line to a random wall hanging, is dropped, who’s to say that was a mistake? In actuality, we have seen many sharp performances and applause-worthy debuts at their shows, and that tradition continues with this comedy, a directorial debut by Rachael Weyers.

The play is a U.K. and Broadway hit by Henry Lewis, Henry Shields, and Jonathan Sayer, who apparently spend their time in London making other stage genres and classic stories “go wrong.” The script invokes the spirit of Murphy’s Law, in that practically every conceivable mistake can and will be made.

To set this scene, and provide fair warning, the director (Elijah Baxter) of the play within the play, “Murder at Haversham Manor,” opens with a curtain speech about how this should be better than past low-budget productions. Posters from these sad attempts decorate the production booth at the far-left edge of the stage, where tech director Trevor (Zach Kreinbrink) frets at both the dog Winston (needed for Act Two) and his prized Duran Duran CDs being missing.

Between mishaps – which occur regularly practically from the start – we get a whodunit mystery with the first victim, Charlie (Greg Borgard), lying on the chaise at center stage. He tries in vain to maintain a stiff demeanor as his friend Thomas (Jake Williams), brother Cecil (Tim West), fiancé Florence (Reagan Nagel) and the butler Perkins (Julie Eaton) stomp around, later accompanied by Inspector Carter (Baxter).  Stagehand Annie (Allison Hermann) does what she can to control wayward props and furniture but is soon called into service as Florence when the actress appears to have been knocked out cold.

This farce is “the show must go on” taken to a ridiculous and hilarious extreme. Performances are comic gold all around, including Eaton’s pronunciations of words from her lines she wrote on her hand, West’s mastery of the pratfall and penchant for chewing the scenery when he’s not wrecking it, and the glorious dueling “Florences” as both women feel they should be in the spotlight. Part of the beauty of the show is how the characters trapped within this disaster come to deal with their situation, from moments of cheekiness to resignation.

The CAT worked around both budgetary and geometric limitations of their smallish stage, still managing the main features of the stage set, including a hollow grandfather clock and an unsteady platform representing the manor’s study. It also suits a low-budget community theatre playing a low-budget community drama club to have a woman in pasted-on mustache as the male butler. Through it all, the understanding audience (except for a couple who bolted during intermission, inspiring the top paragraph) seemed to thoroughly enjoy this well-constructed calamity.

There are three more chances to see CAT’s “The Play That Goes Wrong,” Friday through Sunday, March 29-31, at 254 Veterans Way in downtown Carmel. Get tickets at thecat.biz.

And if anyone sees Winston, let them know.

Going ‘Wrong’ goes right in Bloomington

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By Wendy Carson

John and I saw two different productions of “The Play That Goes Wrong” this past weekend, and from what we witnessed we would like to make this point: All of the mishaps involved throughout the show are meant to be there. You are not witnessing a very poor performance. Laugh along and enjoy all of the goofiness. Do NOT leave at intermission! That said, let’s get to the actual review. I am reviewing the production by Constellation Stage and Screen in Bloomington.

The show begins prior to the “actual” start of the play. Two crew members wander through the area, dealing with a door that refuses to stay shut and a mantlepiece that won’t stay in place. An audience member is recruited to assist with the mantlepiece repair and eventually the issue is resolved. The stage is mostly a large room with a second-story “study” visible to the side (which honestly looks a little shaky).

The “director” eventually appears and, once he has found the spotlight, welcomes us all to the performance. He muses about some of their past shows being less than perfect, then announces “The Murder at Haversham Manor” (that is the play within this play, a London West End hit by Henry Lewis, Henry Shields, and Jonathan Sayer).

Of course, props immediately fall, doors cannot be opened, people keep stepping on the dead man’s hand (causing him to yelp in pain), cues are missed, etc. This is a broad farce and everything that could possibly go wrong does, wherein lies the title and hilarity of the show.

Our cast consists of Jonathon Harris (Bobby Ayala Perez) who portrays the deceased, Charles Haversham. Sandra Wilkinson (Haley Glickman) plays the part of Florence Colleymoore, Charles’s fiancé. Chris Bean (Gavin Douglas) being the aforementioned director as well as Inspector Carter. Max Bennett (Andy McCain) is Cecil Haversham (Charles’s brother) and later reappears as Arthur the Gardener. Dennis Tyde (David Sheehan) as Perkins, the Butler. Robert Grove (Peter Sipla) as Thomas Colleymoore (Florence’s brother). Our crew consists of Stage Manager, Annie Twilloil (Alanna Porter), who also steps in for Florence after Glickman’s character is knocked out, and Trevor Watson (Michael Sheehan) who runs Lighting and Sound.

I know that the cast list is confusing with actors playing actors who are playing parts in a show, but this also adds to the fun. There is some very heavy slapstick comedy with some actors endangered at points during the show. But Fighting and Intimacy Director Leraldo Anzaldue has put this cast through their paces well and nobody actually gets hurt (we hope).

Chad Rabinovitz, the show’s actual director, does an amazing job getting every last drip of hilarity out of his cast while keeping any one of them from upstaging another (a difficult job, given the script).

Each and every member of the cast plays their part immaculately, so it is impossible to single out the talents of each one. However, the constant battle for the part of Florence between Glickman and Porter throughout the second act, as well as everyone’s physical dealings with the collapse of the Study floor (especially Silpa) are highlights of the second act that you really must see. Again, don’t leave at intermission.

The show is spectacularly funny and well worth the drive to Bloomington, playing through April 14 at the Waldron Arts Center, 122 S. Walnut St. Get info and tickets at seeconstellation.org.

Theatre Unchained provides pets-eye view of their world

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By John Lyle Belden

For productions of a certain feline-themed musical, actors often engage in “cat school” to convincingly move, speak – act – like Felis catus. So, even Broadway’s elite understand that no matter how much we anthropomorphize our housepets, they still have a unique, fascinating way of engaging with the world, and us.

This is key to the charm of “Herding Cats,” a new comedy by Neil Martin presented in its world premiere by Theatre Unchained, directed by Megan Ann Jacobs. Jacobs also provides costumes, while set designer Kurt Watkins provides appropriately-sized cat toys and furniture, but it is the talented cast who bring this domestic menagerie to life.

Stella (Angela Dill) is a brown and white Domestic Shorthair, energetic but “girly.” She has mastered the booty-shake pounce, and Dill’s feline vocalizations are uncanny.

Her fluffy white brother, Buddha (Julien Lyons), is highly intelligent and posh as only a proper cat can be. His manner, like a cat-version of the Brain combined with Liberace (if he fancied hot female Persians), helps us accept that our companion animals understand far more of our world than we realize. Lyons sells it with ease.

Lupin (Aspen Harnishfeger) is a male orange/black tiger-striped “street cat” who is quite content with the indoor life, fairly smart but prone to malaprops. Harnishfeger plays it smoothly with alley-cat savior fare.

The cats live in a Los Angeles-area apartment with their stressed-out human, Kelly (Jenny Williams), who works in show business. Bad news: Kelly is having serious issues with a toxic coworker. Good news: She plans to foster an additional rescue cat. Worrisome news: The new housemate is actually a dog!

Enter the adorabe, friendly pitbull terrier Charlize (Hannah Hoffman). In contrast to the close-to-the-fur attitude of cat portrayals, Hoffman is wide-eyed and engaging, embracing her inner puppy. True to her species, she feels big feelings, and snaps instantly from snarls to apology, or worry to unbound optimism.

Though Charlize is good with cats, and Buddha and Lupin give her a chance, Stella will have none of this – she has a history with canines, which ties into treasured memories of their deceased patriarch Benjy.

Cat-dog drama and Stella’s waning appetite spur Kelly into action to help them, but soon the pets realize that she needs their help more. Do they dare engage – “the nuclear option”?!

This show is fun and funny throughout. Once you’ve gotten into their eccentric world of the first act, you can fully accept the utter weirdness that unfolds in the second, inspired by their master’s teenage crush. You’ve accepted the talking cats and dog – just go with it. It all pays off in a most charming and heartwarming manner.

Come out and see (wo)man’s best friends save the day. “Herding Cats” has performances Thursday through Saturday, March 28-30, at the IndyFringe Theatre, 719 E. St. Clair St., Indianapolis. Get info and tickets at indyfringe.org or theatreunchained.org.

‘Blackademics’ serves challenging menu

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By John Lyle Belden

Inspired by television shows and networks devoted to the culinary arts, many of us would love the opportunity for a unique dining experience. It could be said to be careful what you ask for, but for a pair of “Blackademics,” one doesn’t start to understand the nature of what they have gotten into until after that first tiny bite.

Ann (AshLee Baskin), professor at the local liberal arts University, is grateful for a nearly-impossible reservation to this unique café. She wants to celebrate her gaining tenure with her friend Rachelle (Chandra Lynch) who also teaches African-American literature, but at the State college. Curiously, the room is bare. Their server, Georgia (Caroline Sanchez), tells them they are the only guests, and the courses will come soon – but first, a single morsel from a “medley of seeds.”

It takes some time for even a single table to arrive. As the evening progresses, it turns out that Ann and Rachelle must compete for literally everything – a chair, a small plate of food, a utensil – in contests that relate to their careers, academic savvy, and cultural awareness.

“Blackademics,” a dark comedy by Idris Goodwin presented by Fonseca Theatre Company, directed by Ansley Valentine, draws us into an absurdist work – echoes of Samuel Beckett with a dash of “Get Out,” flavored with today’s civil rights struggles. While great progress was made over the last century, many frustrating details remain unresolved, including the disparity in numbers, especially of Black Women, in policy positions of universities.

Questions, such as if Ann can actually affect change from her tenured position, or how Rachelle deals with being “not ethnic enough” for the current academic trends, get a gourmet reduction to a mélange of metaphor. Will defending Black History Month literally get you a place at the table? The competition doesn’t end until the meal is over; who will be worthy of the main course?

Sanchez is delightful with just a touch of sinister as our witty waitress, keeping the audience and our two ladies guessing until her nature finally gets the best of her. Baskin and Lynch ably embody the stress of doing what they see as both labor and calling. Even their assumed sisterhood is challenged – are they only friends because they’re Black?

The Twilight-Zonish goings-on help make the big issues easier to chew, and after this intense 80-minute play, you can discuss the topics later, maybe over dinner.

Make your reservation for “Blackademics,” Thursdays and Fridays at 7 p.m., 4 p.m. Saturdays, and 2 p.m. Sundays, through March 31 at 2508 W. Michigan St., Indianapolis. Info and tickets at FonsecaTheatre.org.

‘Grand’ look at love and relationships

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By John Lyle Belden

Welcome to Grand Horizons Independent Living Community, conveniently located about an hour’s drive from Philadelphia, Pa., or Washington, D.C. In nice apartments with neighbors close at hand a retired couple like Bill and Nancy French, married 50 years, are free to do whatever they want.

Nancy: “I want a divorce.”

Bill: “Okay”

Welcome to “Grand Horizons,” the Broadway comic drama by Bess Wohl presented in its Indiana premiere by The Hyperion Players, directed by Nicole Amsler.

Bill (Chris Otterman) and Nancy (Wendy Brown) prepare for their split as if it were just another household chore, but their sons and daughter-in-law are, to put it mildly, freaking out. Brian (Matt Hartzburg), a high school theatre teacher, is beside himself, wondering if there’s some mystery illness or dementia at play. Older brother Ben (Todd Isaac), a lawyer, is stumped at the illogic of it all, while his very pregnant wife Jess (Morgan Marie French), a couples counselor, tries to employ her skillset to no avail.

There are some deep issues here, including the central couple’s affections outside their marriage – Nancy for now-deceased old flame, Hal, and Bill for new girlfriend, Carla (Cathie Morgan). There is exploration of the nature and meaning of love: Did the Frenches lose it, or ever really have it? And how has it affected their sons, who are each hopeless people-pleasers – Ben with his checkbook, and Brian with his desire to cast every kid in his class whether the roles exist or not.

Brian’s loneliness and confusion comes through in a scene where he brings home a potential one-night stand, Tommy (Austin Uebelhor), who quickly alerts him that neediness is not a turn-on.

As for Ben, he is coming to grips with the actual dysfunction in his upbringing, suddenly afraid of what it could mean as he starts a family of his own. This stress also pushes Jess to the limit.

This examination of relationships and how we feel and communicate blends moments of heartfelt memory and longing with hilarious family-sitcom punchlines. Since older-person roles are usually supporting, it was nice to see Brown and Otterman really shine as the leads. Hartzburg and Isaac portray well two men who haven’t quite emerged from their boyhood insecurities, while Morgan French shows the spark of motherhood that comes with being on the verge of bringing another life into the world, while wondering if she is the only true grownup in the room.

Caroline Frawley assistant directs, and Elianah Atwell is stage manager.

Learn how marriage is like a boa constrictor, that “the defining feature of being an adult is not doing what you want,” and to be careful with the U-Haul. Remaining performances of “Grand Horizons” are Friday through Sunday, March 22-24, at Arts For Lawrence’s Theater at the Fort, 8920 Otis Ave. Get info and tickets at hyperionplayers.com or artsforlawrence.org.

Energetic elders ferret out funny business in CSCT’s ‘Follies’

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By Wendy Carson

Welcome to the Pleasant Valley Retirement Home. It’s a typical Monday morning, but nothing here is quite so simple. Thus begins Lebanon’s Center Stage Community Theater’s production of “Senior Follies” by Billy Wayne St. John. While one might assume from the title that this will be a story involving some sort of show or pageant, that is not at all the case. The “follies” here are of the sensibilities of those involved.

We begin with Mildred Rice (Mary Kay Ferguson) and Sara Jane Dinsmore (Cindy Duncan) casually gossiping while putting together a jigsaw puzzle. One of their main issues is with Howard Phelps (Kevin Van Horn) and his constantly overt flirtations, sometimes ending up with bruises from the pinches. Their friend Bernice Thompson (Janie Lank) has promised to have her husband Douglas (Peter Fowle) have a talk with Howard to set him straight.

Mrs. Rivers (Jada Cannell), director of the facility, has brought two new residents for introductions, Sybil Thackery (Jackae Johnson) and her brother Lowell (Scott Post). Of course, Howard homes in on Sybil and their whirlwind romance begins. Lowell seems to favor Iris Cunningham (Teresa Dittemore) but her overdose of diuretics is playing havoc with their time together.

We quickly find out that the Thackerys are not at all what they seem and have nefarious plans for Howard and Iris. Mildred, Sara Jane, and Bernice are wary of the newcomers and their rapid romancing of their friends. Needless to say, things drama keeps swinging around as often as the two peacocks on the mantle which everyone seems to need to rearrange.

While the plot may seem rather straightforward, the dialogue is where this show truly shines. The quips throughout are absolutely hilarious. My particular favorites were the reference to a couple of the residents skinny dipping in the hot tub as “Rub-a-dub-dub, two nudes in a tub” and Howard’s lack of understanding of why the Thompsons would have a pair of handcuffs in their room.

Director Richelle Lutz does a great job of keeping the drama and the comedy at a tight balance so that the show keeps itself only very slightly self-aware. Being a small theater, makeup and costumes mainly fall to each of the actors, however, whomever came up with the design for Mildred’s makeover in act two should win an award for effects.

John and I thank Lutz for inviting us out to Lebanon to see this on its sold-out closing night. CSCT next presents “An Evening of Culture,” May 3-19 in their cozy confines at 604 Powell St. Get information and tickets at centerstagecommunitytheatre.com or follow on Facebook.

‘Bat in the Wind’ flutters back

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By John Lyle Belden

Write what you know. That’s the universal advice to writers, and some, like novelist Stephen King, turn the muse inward and pen stories about those who pen stories. As a longtime friend (though not as long as some) of playwright Casey Ross, I have seen her blinking cursor return – between indulgences in the silly or geeky – to the shadows of memory and the recrafting of friends made and lost into characters who are new, yet familiar.

She may even agree that the King reference is apt, as he and she both know that it is within the mind where true monsters lie. Bringing those beasties out into the light seemed to be one of the goals of the “Gallery” trilogy she introduced at IndyFringe almost two decades ago. From the start, she presented flawed people with flawed relationships in a way that reminds us that those aspects are baked into the hardware of humanity, not something to be blithely resolved in the third act.

With her most personal work, she lays bare the struggles of a playwright striving to understand their own art in “Bat in the Wind,” which has returned to the IndyFringe Theatre, this time on the more intimate Indy Eleven stage. Last August’s premiere during the 2023 IndyFringe Festival featured a script that was carefully trimmed down to Fringe-show length (under an hour). The updated Catalyst Repertory production, directed by Zachariah Stonerock and clocking in at about an hour and a half (no intermission), is restored, not padded out. Nothing feels extra, and motivations and conversations even gain clarity.

Matt Craft returns as Taylor, a 26-year-old writer who has found himself single, near broke, and suddenly without electricity. This on top of the fact that the prose that should be a brilliant play about the human condition just sits there lifeless on his laptop screen. But before he can attempt to remedy that, he must go next door to his duplex neighbor, Randy (Dane Rogers), a slovenly older man who appears to care about nothing but sustaining his alcoholism. The first thing he says at any conversation is a slurred, “You’re not mad at me, are you?” – in case there was something bad he said or did during a blackout.

The play is subtitled, “A Recent Study on Depression and Addiction,” which at first glance is a reference to poor Randy. However, it’s easy to sniff out your own kind, and in his more lucid moments, he reminds Taylor (and us) that our frustrated wordsmith is an addict as well – and he’s got it bad.

Like a drunk bargaining with his demons, Taylor thinks he has a way of getting his literary high with no danger of personal pain. To write about what he knows, creative folk, he makes the characters in his play photographers, not writers. (This puzzles Randy, but in this writer’s opinion it’s a tactic of distance, the creator always on the safe side of the camera, apart from any action or drama. I note this parenthetically in case Casey tells me I got it wrong.)

Taylor prides himself on being a keen observer, using parts of those he watches to bring truth to his fictional scenes. Randy calls him on treating people like musical instruments, “not everyone likes to be played!” This humbling moment passes, though, and Taylor makes a fragile promise to his “interesting” neighbor. But like a bottle or needle, the muse calls.

All this, in what is technically a dark comedy. Ross’s penchant for dialogue that feels natural yet has every phrase weighted with meaning also generates a surprising number of laughs. Rogers’ no-nonsense deadpan delivery helps immensely, with the real-life absurdity of dealing with someone who’s blotto without comic buffoonery. Randal Leach may be a drunk, but he must be respected.

Craft finds himself the butt of laughter just as often. His constant striving wins our sympathy, despite the fact that he’s morose and manic (the pot and occasional hits of coke don’t help) like someone perpetually treading water, unaware and in fear of how deep in he is. His months-long experience with the role fits him like a second skin.

I must note that, as those with low means tend to indulge in affordable vices, there is a large amount of smoking of lit stage cigarettes in this show. The language – true to Ms. Ross’s style – is as salty as ever.

Also, the ending feels like it lends itself to an unrevealed epilogue, or even a third act. Consider that part being after the lights go up and you are left sitting with your thoughts. Perhaps it’s when you return to see Catalyst’s remounting of “Gallery” this summer. Maybe it’s when you finally sit down to write your next masterpiece, the blinking cursor beckoning like an old habit.

“Bat in the Wind (Or a Recent Study on Depression & Addiction)” has performances March 8-10 and 15-17 at 719 E. St. Clair, Indianapolis. Get tickets at indyfringe.org, more info at catalystrepertory.org or the company Facebook page.

IRT presents ‘Folks’ in a comic situation

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By John Lyle Belden

The situation comedy, a/k/a sitcom, is primarily an American invention, and in its many settings often reflects an aspect of the American Dream. But put something that could be made into a TV pilot on a stage with no cameras – just the live audience – and you find that the difference between a “Full House” and “A Raisin in the Sun” becomes little more than the laugh track.

This is the genre-testing approach of R. Eric Thomas’s “The Folks at Home,” in its second-ever production, presented by Indiana Repertory Theatre (its premiere was in Baltimore, where the story is set).

Young married couple Brandon and Roger (Garrett Young and Keith Illidge) are hitting what could be a rough patch. The big house they bought is changing from a wise investment to a burden as Roger has trouble finding a job; still, Brandon has things budgeted so they can stay until they sell the house – which Roger privately doesn’t want to do. Also, the ghost put the mail in the refrigerator again.

While Brandon’s at work, Roger’s parents Pamela and Vernon (Oliva D. Dawson and Sean Blake) arrive, informing him that their house is in foreclosure, and they are going to have to move in. Later, Brandon’s says-whatever’s-in-her-head mother Maureen (Tracy Michelle Arnold) shows up, stating that since she’s between jobs and living situations, her son said she could move in. Then the “maid” Alice (Claire Wilcher) abruptly arrives to clean off the dust and bad vibes.

As they say in the biz, hilarity ensues.

It’s interesting to guess all the possible classic sitcom influences jammed into this play – “Odd Couple,” “All in the Family,” “Jeffersons,” “Roseanne/Conners,” “Ghosts,” “Modern Family,” you name it – but that would be a disservice to Thomas and director Reggie D. White. In this homage to problems that work out in half an hour of wholesome humor, we see what happens when the issues don’t stop when the theme song kicks back in. Just as many teleplays are based on lived experiences in family homes, this fictional family sees things getting real between the quippy one-liners and odd misunderstandings.

Even with the ever-lurking drama, there are some belly-laugh comic moments, including the always-awkward “family meeting,” and the arrival in Act 2 of Wilcher as Brandon’s very pregnant sister Brittany, eager to dispense her “crock-pot” wisdom. The cast give us unique characters that still suggest archetypes – Maureen a bit Archie Bunker, Vernon a bit George Jefferson, Brandon and Roger like pals of Will and Grace – which like those personae keep them relatable to folks we know or people we’ve been. Given more than a half-hour for the plot to play out, it’s like binging a short season’s arc (complete with Intermission for a break) to see how all the storylines resolve. Funny, uplifting, and NOT available on Netflix or any other streaming service. Catch “The Folks at Home” at the IRT, 140 W. Washington St., Indianapolis, through March 16. Get tickets and information at irtlive.com.

Fabulous flora in drag ‘Little Shop’

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By John Lyle Belden

To borrow from an unrelated comedy gang who put male bodies in dresses: Now for something completely different.

Indy Drag Theatre was in full bloom at the District Theatre with its production of “Little Shop of (W)Horrors:  A Drag Parody Musical.” The fairly new local company took on a mostly straight (ha-ha) presentation of the movie-turned-Broadway-turned-movie, but done by drag queens, kings, and other genderfluid royalty. In the true spirit of the Drag art form, emphasizing spectacle and visual parody and satire – in the most *fabulous* manner possible – our performers expertly lip-synch the lines and songs from Broadway and film audio, but what you see on the stage is even more entertaining than most renditions of the classic boy/girl/man-eating-plant story.

With no scenes drastically altered, this serves to inform or remind those unfamiliar with the source work. However, if you know what happens, it becomes awesome on another level. Shoddy-sheik staging and costumes match both the story and the tongue-in-cheek mood. Dance numbers both advance the story and “work it” a la a Ru-Paul revue. In the best melding of the already-goofy musical and this milieu, our star houseplant, Audrey II, transforms from the standard hand-puppet to the toxic fabulousness of Ciara Myst.*

Other principal cast members include Parker Taylor as Seymour Krelborn, the Skid Row orphan who discovers the plant; Pancha La Flor as Audrey, the sweet girl at the flower shop Seymour is sweet on and the sadistic Dentist (Beelzebabe) beats on; Eli Rose as florist Mr. Mushnik; and our hot chorus of backups Ava Morningstar (as Crystal), April Rosè (Chiffon), and Devin Hill (Ronette).

Also on stage are Axel Rosie, Drucilla Demora, Blue Lightning, and understudies Jared Matthew, Zariah, and Kalinda Morningstar.

Taylor, who has been brilliant in recent regular stage productions, puts their talent to excellent use – one who would be great a century ago mouthing and emoting a silent film. La Flor is not the beanpole actress you usually get for Audrey, kind of like if Broadway had tapped a young Jennifer Coolidge, but she makes it all work (in both senses of the word) wonderfully. As for Ms. Myst, the ability to strut the whole stage makes this fierce flytrap more dangerous than in any other medium.

Direction is by Krystie Roberts, with choreography by April Rosè, IDT’s co-founder (with creative director Blair St. Clair).

If you are a teen (with cool parents) or older and hip to any of this at all, it is a must that you support this marvelous meld of “holla”- worthy entertainment (and yes, whooping it up is encouraged, but slip your dollar bills into their Venmo). Remaining performances are Thursday through Sunday, Feb.  22-25, at the District Theatre, 627 Massachusetts Ave., Indianapolis. Get tickets (including VIP) and info at indydistrictthe.org or indydragtheatre.com.

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[*In keeping with the culture and respecting personal boundaries, if the Drag name is all we are given for a performer (which is as unique and individual as what’s on their driver’s license anyway), that’s all we publish.]