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The Courier-Times Audience Enjoys Comedy “My Three Angels”By Cathy Craig
“My Three Angels,” second in the alternating repertory of Summer
Theater in the Park’s five productions, opened Saturday night to the laughing
approval of its audience.
Action in the three-act comedy by Sam and
Bella Spewack takes place on Christmas Eve and Morning in the steamy penal
colony of
Instead, however, the witty cons repair much
more by disposing of the villainous Uncle Henri who would dispossess Felix, his
wife, Emilie, and daughter, Marie Louise. In
their comic exploits, they assure Felix of his position as “manager of a
substantial establishment,” give a gift of hope to Emilie and, in a fatal
sequence, help prove Paul, Marie Louise’s beau, to be a cad.
The “three angels” are well-played by
Greg Easter as Joseph, number 3011, Alan Denney as Jules, number 6817, and
Darrell Osborne as Alfred, number 4707.
Greg Easter relishes his role as the artful
and unorthodox con man Joseph. He
portrays Joseph as a canny, if frenzied, character who delights in transactions
of salesman and bookkeeper. Easter
utilizes a thick French accent, dramatic and quick gesturing and wide vocal
range in the exaggerations that make his characterization thoroughly
entertaining.
Alan Denney interacts well with Easter and
Osborne to convey the inseparableness of the “angelic” trio.
Though an intense Jules, dedicated to his friends and their adventures,
Denney does not project the sense of age and deliberation that the
introspective, philosophical, middle-aged character must have.
At one point, Jules was lost to an anachronistic rendering of W. C.
Fields.
Darrell Osborne is an attractive Alfred.
Osborne radiates an unaffected naiveté in his character that makes the
audience wish as Alfred does, with fanciful longing and fleeting jealously, that
he could be a suitor to Marie Louis. Osborne’s
Alfred remains true to his fallen companions, however, by his zealous
participation in the antics of their alliance.
Gary Imel is a wonderful Felix Ducotel.
With starts and stops, jerks and dabs to the brow, clearing of the throat
and intensity expression, Imel depicts a guileless and childlike Felix who,
uncertain and innocent, doesn’t know how he manages, but is always honest.
Patricia Allen creates a perfect mate for
Imel’s Felix as Emilie. Allen’s
Emilie is a graceful and simple woman, unquestionably in love with her husband,
but downhearted by their uncertain situation and unsure that she should be
mother to her husband as well as to Marie Louise.
Allen delicately infers an innocence and naiveté in her character that
makes clear there is a threesome of Ducotels.
Marie Louise as portrayed by Shelley Hoover
is a delightful, energetic daughter, given to the romantic dreaming of her
unrealistic father. Bouncy and
wide-eyed,
Chris Barr is a thoroughly despicable Uncle
Henri. He is rude, domineering,
unfeeling and all-powerful. He is a
fine villain.
John McCammon is Paul, the nephew of Henri.
McCammon plays Paul as a condescending, emotionless, and ultimately
greedy cad, easily dislikable.
Julie LeHunt is a successful Madame Parole,
a detestable match to Henri and Paul who completes the final triplet.
Richard Walters is a dashing lieutenant and
the concealed Adolphe a regular hero.
Set and props for the production are
excellent. Warm colors of reds,
browns, golds and yellows have been utilized by director Dick Willis to create a
tropic atmosphere. Furniture is true
to the turn of the century and to the social status of the Ducotels.
Details of Oriental rug, pictures, tropical plants, even diminutive
Christmas tree and squawking rooster, all add to the comedy’s success.
Costumes by Vickie Willis are also
excellent. The women are dressed in
restored, authentic gowns of the era, well matched to the age and personalities
of the characters they portray. The
men are outfitted equally well, in costuming designed by Mrs. Willis.
“My Three Angels,” is a gem of comedy.
It is a happy addition to Summer Theater in the Park’s slate of
entertainment and its effect is affectionately and humorously reproduced by the
Summer Theater company. It will be
performed again July 21, 26-27, and Aug. 8. |