Review: British Farce THE COTTAGE At Torrance Theater Company

With a tip of the hat to Noel Coward and British comedies of the past, the true meaning of fate and faith, identity and infidelity, love and marriage are all called into question in Sandy Rustin’s ridiculously funny romantic farce THE COTTAGE now onstage at Torrance Theatre Company through February 28.

Kat Kimball, Alyssa Berkowitz, Charlie Lindberg, Allen Barstow, Maureen Lee Lenker
Photo credit: Miguel Elliott

Filled with snappy dialogue and lots of surprises, much like Rustin’s popular stage adaptation of the film Clue, be prepared as romantic alliances are tested and broken in a barrage of deceit in a quaint family-owned cottage in the English countryside in June 1923.

Chaos and hilarity ensue as secret affairs in THE COTTAGE are revealed.
Photo credit: Miguel Elliott

Brilliantly directed by Cary Jordahl, who again rises to the “exhilarating challenges of managing comedic timing with physical movement precision and the delicate balance between sincerity and absurdity,” this fact-paced farce succeeds thanks to his talented cast who commits to honor each outrageous situation as real and totally possible.

Allen Barstow (Beau) and Alyssa Berkowitz (Sylvia)
Photo credit: Miguel Elliott

The play begins when Sylvia and Beau emerge dressed in their “skivvies” after their yearly rendezvous night which has been going on each summer for seven years. But after Sylvia decides to expose her affair to both her husband Clark and Beau’s wife Marjorie, what we soon discover is that a game of musical beds and marriages has been taking place.

Charlie Lindberg (Clark), Maureen Lee Lenker (Marjorie)
Photo credit: Miguel Elliott

What Sylvia doesn’t expect is a complicated and hilarious web of secrets and betrayal to unravel after their two spouses reveal they have been fooling around together for just as long! So, whose baby is Marjorie really carrying?

Brothers, wives, and lovers: Kat Kimball (Dierdre), Alyssa Berkowitz (Sylvia), Allen Barstow (Beau), Charlie Lindberg (Clark), Maureen Lee Lenker (Marjorie)
Photo credit: Miguel Elliott

After that big reveal, Sylvia knows she is ready to leave her cheating husband to begin her new life together with Beau. But when Beau, who is also Clark’s brother, demurs on a shared future with her, Sylvia is at a loss on her next step after Dierdre arrives and announces that she and Beau have been frequent lovers with his promise to marry her once he leaves Marjorie.

Alyssa Berkowitz (Sylvia), Theodore Coonradt (Richard)
Photo credit: Miguel Elliott

But when Sylvia’s former teenage crush shows up in disguise, revealing himself as Dierdre’s ex-husband Richard who has been searching for Sylvia for years, will these three pairs find their new way in life or decide to find a new path forward?

Richard (Theodore Coonradt) and Sylvia (Alyssa Berkowitz) enjoy a cup of tea before a raucous game of musical marriage chairs begins.
Photo credit: Miguel Elliott

One thing for sure, hilarity ensues, a will is read and alcohol is consumed, leading to brilliant cat and mouse games during which laughs abound.

In the middle of chaos after Dierdre passes out and Sylvia answers a life-changing phone call, Marjorie's labor begins. Or is it just gas?
Photo credit: Miguel Elliott

Jordahl’s wonderfully talented cast includes Alyssa Berkowitz as Sylvia, a natural for any British romantic farce, Allen Barstow as the handsome and womanizing Beau, rubber-faced Maureen Lee Lenker as the very gassy and pregnant Marjorie, Charlie Lindberg as the apprehensive Clark, prat-fall master Kat Kimball as Dierdre, and Theodore Coonradt as the mysterious Richard who has been playing his own game of intrigue as a way to set his sights on finding and claiming Sylvia as his own.

Standing (L-R): Charlie Lindberg, Allen Barstow, Thoedore Coonradt 
Seated (L-R) Maureen Lee Lenker, Alyssa Berkowitz, Kat Kimball
Photo credit: Miguel Elliott

The entire ensemble is to be commended for its excellent timing and non-stop, perfectly coordinated movement thanks to director Jordahl, even when it seems impossible anything else could possibly go wrong. Trust me, it does. Why else would Beau come running down the stairs brandishing a wooden duck while Clark chooses to attack with a woman’s corset?

Exes Dierdre (Kat Kimball) and Richard (Theodore Coonradt) question why their marriage failed. Photo credit: Miguel Elliott

Many thanks also go to playwright Rustin for examining the ever-present battle of the sexes in a time when women were just realizing it was okay to speak up for themselves and incorporating different forms of that new way of thinking into the three women trying to figure out their lives and the men they want, or don’t want, in it.

Kat Kimball (Dierdre), Alyssa Berkowitz (Sylvia), Charlie Lindberg (Clark), Maureen Lee Lenker (Marjorie). Photo credit: Miguel Elliott

Costumer extraordinaire Michael Mullen absolutely captures the characters’ personalities by giving the actors expertly tailored, period-perfect designs, but I question the terrible beard and wig designed for Theodore Coonradt as Richard. But perhaps that was the goal of either designer or director to signal the audience of the character’s intention upon arrival.

Allen Barstow (Beau), Alyssa Berkowitz (Sylvia), Kat Kimball (Dierdre), Theodore Coonradt (Richard). Photo credit: Miguel Elliott

Intimate scenic design by Cary Jordahl and Jorge Macias creates the illusion of being in the cottage with the characters, while sound design by Winter Hagstrom includes time-appropriate tunes. And a note to the house manager, the theater was kept much too hot at the performance I attended. That’s a sure way to cause a few patrons to fall asleep.

Hilarity ensues after brothers Clark and Beau (Charlie Lindberg, Allen Barstow) realize they are having affairs with each other's wives.
Photo credit: Miguel Elliott

As for Rustin’s script, the first act seems a bit too long due to the amount of character background exposition needed. Act II picks up and sails along at a fast pace with lots of action and surprises as couples figure out who is the best match for each of them. And just when you figure who you think is best for each of them, I guarantee plot twists will astound you.

Torrance Theatre Company presents THE COTTAGE with four performances remaining on Thursday February 26 at 7:00 pm (includes a Q & A with cast and team), Friday February 27 at 8:00 pm, and Saturday February 28 at 2:00 pm & 8:00 pm at the company’s intimate downtown space in Old Torrance, at 1316 Cabrillo Avenue, Torrance, 90501. For tickets, visit TorranceTheatreCompany.com, call (424) 243-6882, or purchase available tickets at the box office prior to performances.