Fed up with the pressures and demands of her acting career, the famous Myra Marlowe leases a house in the tiny Vermont hamlet of Beaver Haven, and settles down to write her autobiography. She is successful in turning aside the offers pressed on her by her long-time agent, but dealing with her nosy, omnipresent neighbors is a different matter. In an attempt to shoo them away, and gain some privacy, Myra invents a mad, homicidal sister – who is kept locked in an upstairs room, but who occasionally escapes long enough to scare off uninvited visitors. The ruse works well, at first, but complications result when the local handyman conceives an affection for “Sister Sadie’ (really Myra in a fright wig) and some of the more officious ladies decide it is their Christian duty to save the poor demented Sadie’s soul. In desperation, Myra announces that her imaginary sibling has suddenly gone off to Boston – which brings on the sheriff, and the suspicion of murder!
Written by John Patrick. Directed by Larry Eisenberg.
A Bad Year for Tomatoes
Critics
LemonMeter
Reviews: 6
Reviews
This silly, three-door farce will keeping you laughing from start to finish as the brilliant cast of characters run every which way, think nothing of coming in if a door is unlocked, or always seem to be doing their best to create even more interesting tales to tell their neighbors over tea - or perhaps just a bit more scotch! Just goes to show you there's a lot of fun and games going on behind the scenes in rustic Beaver Haven, Vermont.
Clearly, the cast was trying very hard to make the lines sidesplitting and uproarious; and their efforts are to be congratulated. At the same time, the total effect was more like a slow-paced Three Stooges comedy than a clever farce.
Director Larry Eisenberg pulls out all the slapstick spots he can find before surrendering us to the happy ending.
This comedy, written in 1974, is about characters who are too much over the top in outrageous silliness, perhaps some of which might have been played
down somewhat.
The most successful work is achieved by Amanda Conlon and Ann Ryerson as the two “welcoming,” but intrusive neighbors who want to save the mad sister’s soul. Conlon in particular has a very funny turn as a professed teetotaler who keeps imbibing Myra’s scotch after a fight with her husband.
It may be A BAD YEAR FOR TOMATOES, but it is a good year for Theatre 40 as this troupe is set to begin their fifty-fourth season with six unique plays that consist of three world premiers, two American premiers, and a pair of Los Angeles premiers. There will be comedy, drama, and all points in between.
This silly, three-door farce will keeping you laughing from start to finish as the brilliant cast of characters run every which way, think nothing of coming in if a door is unlocked, or always seem to be doing their best to create even more interesting tales to tell their neighbors over tea - or perhaps just a bit more scotch! Just goes to show you there's a lot of fun and games going on behind the scenes in rustic Beaver Haven, Vermont.
Clearly, the cast was trying very hard to make the lines sidesplitting and uproarious; and their efforts are to be congratulated. At the same time, the total effect was more like a slow-paced Three Stooges comedy than a clever farce.
Director Larry Eisenberg pulls out all the slapstick spots he can find before surrendering us to the happy ending.
This comedy, written in 1974, is about characters who are too much over the top in outrageous silliness, perhaps some of which might have been played
down somewhat.
The most successful work is achieved by Amanda Conlon and Ann Ryerson as the two “welcoming,” but intrusive neighbors who want to save the mad sister’s soul. Conlon in particular has a very funny turn as a professed teetotaler who keeps imbibing Myra’s scotch after a fight with her husband.
It may be A BAD YEAR FOR TOMATOES, but it is a good year for Theatre 40 as this troupe is set to begin their fifty-fourth season with six unique plays that consist of three world premiers, two American premiers, and a pair of Los Angeles premiers. There will be comedy, drama, and all points in between.