THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, March 7, 1996 TAG: 9603070153
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 13 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY FRANK ROBERTS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SMITHFIELD LENGTH: Medium: 52 lines
The Smithfield Little Theatre has mastered wackiness with its version of the British farce ``It Runs in the Family.''
The daffy show moves swiftly - vocally and physically - offering laughs at every line and movement.
The fascinating thing about this production, continuing this weekend and next, is that most of the cast is onstage for the first time. Most are Brits, and, whatever the reason, comedy seems enhanced by a British accent.
There is a lot of physical comedy, and the timing is excellent. Martin Briggs has you laughing at every moment. Looking and acting like John Cleese, one of the zaniest members of ``Monty Python's Flying Circus,'' he portrays Dr. David Mortimore, a heel of a physician with a higher lying quotient than Pinocchio.
The more he lies, the more flustered he becomes. The madder he gets, the funnier. The more people he draws into his net of deception, the nuttier the situations.
The doctor finds out he has a son. Leslie, nicely played by Chris Parsons, is now a teenage, technicolor-haired punk.
In an effort to preserve his happy marriage, Mortimore asks Dr. Hubert Bonney to pretend that he is dear old dad. Skip Hebert, as Bonney, is marvelously befuddled.
Most of the time, Geoff Payne, as the police sergeant, is straight-arrow. But, when the situation becomes overwhelming, he winds up as wild as everyone else.
Dawn Bachman, as the put-upon matron, is hilarious, as is Lewis Chapman as Bill, a harried wheelchair patient who is constantly shoved away.
His wife, Jeanette, keeps the play moving at jet-pace. She is an old hand at directing fruitcake comedies.
With ``It Runs in the Family,'' you may laugh so much you miss many of the lines. What could be a better recommendation to see it? MEMO: AT A GLANCE
What: ``It Runs in the Family''
When: 8 tonight through Saturday; March 14 to 16
Where: Cotton Gin Theatre, Commerce Street, Smithfield
Tickets: $8. Call 357-7338. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by Frank Roberts
Skip Hebert, left, and Martin Briggs star in Smithfield Little
Theatre's version of "It Runs in the Family."
by CNB