 |
| Kailey Hlavaty and Matt Hlavaty |
By Tina Arth
It goes without saying that the last 18+ months have been
pretty tough, and we’re not out of the woods yet in many ways. Nonetheless,
here we are tentatively sticking our toes back into the inviting but scary pool
of live theater! Hillsboro’s HART Theatre is part of the brave vanguard
offering fully staged shows despite the risk of extremely low attendance (which
dovetails nicely with the need to severely restrict audience size to comply
with safety protocols). First up: director
Kraig Williams presents The Fox on the Fairway
by Ken Ludwig (better known for Lend
Me a Tenor, Moon Over Buffalo, Crazy for You, The Game’s Afoot), a light
bit of farcical fluff well-suited to a time when audiences may crave undemanding
entertainment with a nice dose of levity.
The Fox on the Fairway
is definitely not one of Ludwig’s best efforts – some of the humor is a bit
juvenile, outcomes are predictable, and there’s one plot hole wide enough that
a semi-truck could drive through with room to spare. That said, it’s a fun
show, and the HART cast delivers two hours of frequently frenetic comedy with
some solid laughs. The play is set in
the taproom of the Quail Valley Country Club, where managing director Henry
Bingham is preparing for a tournament against their archrival, Crouching
Squirrel Country Club. Quail Valley has lost the tournament for the past five
years, and the Board of Directors is threatening to fire Bingham if this year’s
tournament provides a sixth loss. Bingham’s ace in the hole is a new member who
is assured of victory; on the strength of this secret weapon Bingham is lured
into a $200,000 bet with Crouching Squirrel’s director, the devious Dickie
Bell. In the meantime, Bingham’s young new assistant Justin proposes to the
lovely Louise, a waitress in the taproom.
Both the engagement and Bingham’s secret weapon soon fall apart – I can
say no more, except to reassure a worried audience that, as is wont to happen
in farce, love conquers all.
In a generally competent cast, there are a few standouts.
Matt Hlavaty (Justin Hicks) does a nice job of playing the jittery beau, a
seeming incompetent with a hidden talent (and some fierce neuroses). Brandon
Weaver (Henry Bingham) is appropriately officious – the blustery, stuffy, bully
of a boss who cowers in terror around his domineering wife Muriel (KC Cooper).
The real star in this production, however, is Kailey Hlavaty (Louise Heindbedder),
an experienced local actor who lights up the stage with her physical comedy as
well as her perfect timing and delivery. I’m sure Ken Ludwig would be thrilled to see
how much humor Hlavaty brings to his script.
As always, William Crawford delivers a fine set with just
enough gentrified elegance, plus ample doors and windows for the farce’s
requisite running around and implied offstage shenanigans. There are some
fairly tricky sound effects, and director Williams’ sound design is delivered
with precision by Ellen and Lucas Ray. Kelcey Weaver’s costumes run the gamut
from upper-middle-class stylishness (Bingham and society matron Pamela Peabody)
to the appalling absurdity of Dickie Bell’s ugly golf sweaters and bizarre
formal wear – again, Kailey Hlavaty wins with her perfectly fitted and
fashionable golf togs.
Williams succeeds in eliciting the zany comedy of an earlier
era, when ingénues were innocent and mature couples played musical
partners. The Fox on the Fairway is not great art, but if you are ready to
try out live, indoor theater again you could do much worse! HART is adhering to
recommended COVID-19 guidelines including required vaccinations and masks at
all times for all but the actors. To the extent possible, they are also trying
for 6’ distancing between groups – but in a small theater even a modest
audience sometimes makes this challenging.
The Fox on the Fairway
is playing at the HART Theatre, 185 SE Washington, Hillsboro through Sunday,
September 19th, with performances Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
and Sunday at 2:00 p.m.
No comments:
Post a Comment