‘Sabrina Fair’ fares well, poses questions

 

By DEBORAH SKOZEK
The Independent

 

Print this Page    Email This Article

 

Erudite allusions, clever repartee and a smattering of French make for some heady entertainment. Of course, a cockatoo, an aging father whose new hobby is attending funerals instead of sailing and a wise career woman with an acerbic wit provide the lighter fare in TownSquare Players’ production of “Sabrina Fair,” a comedy of manners.
Many theatergoers may think they know this story via the Humphrey Bogart/Audrey Hepburn or Harrison Ford/Julia Ormond movie versions of the play, but they would be mistaken. In fact, director Timothy R. Curtis mentions that playwright Samuel Taylor refused to do the screenplay due to the storyline changes Billy Wilder wanted.
The pre-performance recordings of Edith Piaf and Doris Day certainly set the mood. The small yet animated opening night crowd took awhile to warm up, settle in and laugh out loud. The play begins quietly and inauspiciously as two old friends, Maude Larrabee and Julia Ward McKinlock, reminisce on the lovely brick terrace of the Larrabee estate. The actors initially seemed nervous, tentative and unsure of their lines. But after Rob Scharlow, who deftly portrays the savvy and perceptive Linus Larrabee Jr., took the stage, the actors and story came to life.
TSP subscribers will immediately recognize Rob Scharlow and many of the other actors in this production. The fresh and funny Sarah Weinstein, despite her youth, manages to project a wisdom and worldliness befitting Aunt Julia, but her wig could have been less obvious. Aunt Julia’s role as objective observer allows her to comment on everyone’s behavior, including her own. She garners a large share of the laughs along with perfectly cast Dick Foertsch, who portrays Linus Larrabee Sr., a patriarch who believes that “man’s life is a progression of indignities.”
Although there’s romance, questions of class, the value of intelligence, honesty and independence and the role of marriage, men and women are the issues on which the play focuses. The return of the chauffeur’s daughter Sabrina Fairchild, earnestly portrayed by petite, demure and energetic Katelin Stack, brings all these conflicts to the fore during her first two weeks back home from Paris.
Another familiar face, Peter Heimsoth, serves as the Larrabees’ dignified and well-respected chauffeur who has read 6,328 books and has a secret. The affable Paul Lockwood as Paul D’Argenson, one of Sabrina’s suitors, does not seem like a man who hunts wild boar in Belgium, but as a smart businessman, he certainly fills the bill.
Pam Curtis uses silence and movement to great effect as Margaret, a servant who has been like a mother to Sabrina.
Newcomers Tony Malysiak (David Larrabee) and Linda Myren (Maude Larrabee) make the most of their roles but occasionally appear uncomfortable on stage while Julie Neuleib, in both her small roles as David’s ex-wife and a partygoer, seems so natural and at ease. Partygoers Jim Pierce, Kim Scharlow and Mike Vanderwyst provide a much-needed energy boost before the intermission.
Kudos to the production staff. The simple but sturdy set design of Lou Czarny and Curtis oozes wealth yet allows the play to take center stage. The costumes by Kathy Bruhnke and Trudie Dreyer, especially Sabrina’s dresses and black flats, were evocative of the ’50s. Whether it was a cockatoo, breaking glass, or offstage fall, sound designer and technician Curtis managed it all. French dialect coach Jennifer M.K. deserves special mention for helping the cast sound so convincing while speaking or singing in French.
Performances will be at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, March 7, 8, 14 and 15, and at 3 p.m. Sundays, March 9 and 16, at the Woodstock Opera House. Call 815-338-5300 for tickets.

 

This article was published in the March 5, 2008 edition of The Woodstock Independent.