The Group Rep presents Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman’s beloved farce THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER, directed by Bruce Kimmel, produced by Doug Haverty. A few weeks before Christmas in small town USA, a famously outlandish NYC radio personality is invited to dine at the house of the well-to-do local factory owner. But this sharp-tongued celebrity slips on a patch of ice outside the front door and injures his hip. Confined to the house for a month, he drives his hosts mad by insulting them, monopolizing their world, wreaking havoc with romantic antics and receiving a constant stream of bizarre guests, including performers, scientists, penguins and even paroled convicts. As Christmas Day approaches, mayhem ensues and fate delivers a comeuppance. December 6, 2019 – January 12, 2020 only. Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 pm. Sunday matinees at 2:00 pm. Talkbacks after Sunday matinees December 15 and December 29. Approximate running time two hours. There will be two intermissions. Ages 7 and up. Tickets: $25. Seniors 65+/Students with ID: $20. Groups of 10 or more: $15. Tickets/information: www.thegrouprep.com or (818) 763-5990. Lonny Chapman Theatre – Main Stage, 10900 Burbank Boulevard, North Hollywood 91601.
THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER
Critics
LemonMeter
Reviews: 10
Reviews
For THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER transcends time to come across as fresh and new at every turn. Even if a few of the “famous” in the play don’t ring any bells for you – you’ll quickly catch on to the humor. Good writing is timeless – and THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER proves the point.
Bruce Kimmel is an accomplished director, and his direction moves and guides the enormous cast skillfully. The aforementioned enormous cast is wonderful and gives each character definition and joy. They are great to watch with superb acting and leave you wanting more.
With its Shakespearean-sized necessities, a truly brilliant version of The Man Who Came to Dinner may be impossible these days. But I’m glad to have seen this reminder of the halcyon days between the great wars; the two-and-a-half hours fly by, with the best moments offering a risible throwback to an era of grand silliness.
The Man Who Came To Dinner continues through January 12 at the intimate Lonny Chapman Theatre in North Hollywood and is well worth the trip.
The Chapman Theatre's house company, The Group Rep, has put together a cast of veteran performers who know their parts well.
Director Bruce Kimmel keeps things flying right along with nonstop energy and dynamic pacing, zingers flying right and left. Production work is also first rate, especially the luscious period costumes and rich Midwestern home set.
Though somewhat dated for contemporary audiences, the all-too-human situations and comic bits still strike a powerful chord with audiences.
The Man Who Came to Dinner’s delicious dialogue and zany situations make it a surefire crowd-pleaser.
This production of The Man Who Came to Dinner is Group Rep’s holiday gift to Los Angeles audiences, unwinding like a finely tuned instrument with cleverly coordinated moving parts. - RECOMMENDED
The entire cast is exceptionally outstanding. Jim Beaver stands out as absolutely remarkable in a role that he makes his own.
1930s radio may have gone the way of the dinosaurs, but as reality TV and YouTube make abundantly clear, celebrity worship never goes out of style, nor does The Man Who Came To Dinner, one of The Group Rep’s best.
In a world mired in sadness, suffering and hypocrisy, this play rises above the partisan bellyaching and caterwauling to confront social, political and personal demons equally with a mix of vinegar and wine, salt and pepper and radish and radiance. In so doing, this finally-tuned and well-paced vehicle never manages to forget its primary goal: to entertain and amuse.
The third act ushers in a character named Banjo (the insanely funny, totally uninhibited, outrageously inventive Barry Pearl), clearly based on the antics of Harpo Marx. I have never seen anything like this performance and it is worth the price of admission all by itself.
For THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER transcends time to come across as fresh and new at every turn. Even if a few of the “famous” in the play don’t ring any bells for you – you’ll quickly catch on to the humor. Good writing is timeless – and THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER proves the point.
Bruce Kimmel is an accomplished director, and his direction moves and guides the enormous cast skillfully. The aforementioned enormous cast is wonderful and gives each character definition and joy. They are great to watch with superb acting and leave you wanting more.
With its Shakespearean-sized necessities, a truly brilliant version of The Man Who Came to Dinner may be impossible these days. But I’m glad to have seen this reminder of the halcyon days between the great wars; the two-and-a-half hours fly by, with the best moments offering a risible throwback to an era of grand silliness.
The Man Who Came To Dinner continues through January 12 at the intimate Lonny Chapman Theatre in North Hollywood and is well worth the trip.
The Chapman Theatre's house company, The Group Rep, has put together a cast of veteran performers who know their parts well.
Director Bruce Kimmel keeps things flying right along with nonstop energy and dynamic pacing, zingers flying right and left. Production work is also first rate, especially the luscious period costumes and rich Midwestern home set.
Though somewhat dated for contemporary audiences, the all-too-human situations and comic bits still strike a powerful chord with audiences.
The Man Who Came to Dinner’s delicious dialogue and zany situations make it a surefire crowd-pleaser.
This production of The Man Who Came to Dinner is Group Rep’s holiday gift to Los Angeles audiences, unwinding like a finely tuned instrument with cleverly coordinated moving parts. - RECOMMENDED
The entire cast is exceptionally outstanding. Jim Beaver stands out as absolutely remarkable in a role that he makes his own.
1930s radio may have gone the way of the dinosaurs, but as reality TV and YouTube make abundantly clear, celebrity worship never goes out of style, nor does The Man Who Came To Dinner, one of The Group Rep’s best.
In a world mired in sadness, suffering and hypocrisy, this play rises above the partisan bellyaching and caterwauling to confront social, political and personal demons equally with a mix of vinegar and wine, salt and pepper and radish and radiance. In so doing, this finally-tuned and well-paced vehicle never manages to forget its primary goal: to entertain and amuse.
The third act ushers in a character named Banjo (the insanely funny, totally uninhibited, outrageously inventive Barry Pearl), clearly based on the antics of Harpo Marx. I have never seen anything like this performance and it is worth the price of admission all by itself.