Farce invokes frenzied folks

Fannin Performance Hall was transformed into a crime scene and police investigation with a mystery writer and a group of frenzied folks frantically searching for stolen diamonds.

There was pandemonium on stage, but it was all part of the fun as the Richland Drama Department presented "Exit the Body" Oct. 13. The three-act farce involved dead bodies, mistaken identities and plot twists.

One of the best features of the performance was the beautifully decorated set, with maroon and white walls, a beige sofa, black leather chairs and artful French doors, including some vibrant moonlight in a couple of scenes to make the audience feel as if they were in their own living rooms.

Director Mac Lower said that the challenge in farce is in the timing and blocking. That  certainly excelled in this production, beginning with the ditzy maid, Jenny, played by Gabby Matsotso. She added a lot of pizazz to the show by popping in and out of doors in the blink of an eye.

Jenny and her boyfriend Randolph (Alex Geffen) made a delightful duo. They assume her new boss, mystery writer Crane Hammond, is rich. Crane hopes to get some peace and quiet in this out-of-the way country house for four weeks so she can start writing a new TV series. But  that doesn't happen.   

There's a lot of really quick humor in "Exit," such as the scene when Randolph, dressed in a brown suit and looking like an executive, tells Jenny about his mother. Jenny asks what she's doing and he replies that she's "doing 10 years." He says his mother hopes that he will be "wanted" one day, too. The audience had to listen carefully to catch these  little hints of humor.

Alex Drago was quite convincing in the lead role as Crane, who together with her secretary, New Yorker Kate Bixley (Shelby Creson) provided great chemistry.  The two actresses resembled one other -- both brunettes, petite and in some scenes when they faced off, it was eye to eye conversation.

The actors worked hard on their New York/New England accents, which worked well most of the time. In some scenes, however, it was hard to understand them.

Jocelyn Elizabeth Avery had the more serious role of realtor Helen O'Toole, who found the house for Crane. She explained a little history of the house by relating that Marco Redfax, who previously lived there, was wanted for armed robbery and stole the luxurious Rodney Williston Jewelry Collection.

The police found everything but the diamonds, which are supposedly hidden somewhere in the house. Redfax was killed in a car accident and nobody has found the diamonds, provoking the greedy characters into action.   

That suspense leads to Sheriff Vernon Cookley, a rather pudgy, slow-movin' kinda guy (played by Oscar Baldassari) who's a country boy at heart. He's the jack of all trades – taxi driver, justice of the peace, dog catcher and even picks up manure when necessary in the small town of Birchville.

More plot twists develop when Lillian Seymour (Sasha Restrepo) and her new husband Lyle (Cody Samples) enter the scene. Christopher Frater also comes off well in his role as the mysterious Philip Smith, a guy suffering from amnesia after a blow to the head, trying to figure out who he is.

 The sheriff locked him up in the bathroom of the jail, but he escaped and is now considered dangerous.

 One of the key scenes is when Philip thinks he might get his memory back if Crane would just knock him over the head again with another blunt instrument. She tries, but stumbles and falls over him. The audience loved it.

The last act is the most exciting and funny – as the characters sneak out in darkness at 2 a.m. with flashlights and bump into each other in their desperate search to find the missing diamonds. The real Mr. Hammond (Michael Hampton), Crane's husband, appears and gets shoved into the closet as well.

When the lights go on and all the characters are exposed, Crane finally figures out where the diamonds are.

Jenny comes out with a bucket of ice. Therein lies the secret to the diamonds. Crane explains that each diamond is hidden in an ice cube.

"Exit the Body" is a typical farce. What was nice about it is that even if the audience didn't understand what was going on or hadn't read the play, they could still just sit back and enjoy the fun.

 This production provided some quick action, plenty of mistaken identities and one-liners, jokes and plot twists for a nice evening of family enjoyment.

Vicki Mayham and Jim Stover from Art Department contributed their paintings to the production.