Review: MIDNIGHT at Summer Break Theatre

David Epstein's Midnight takes us back to 1954, when Hollywood directors had oversized egos, aspiring actors waited tables hoping to be discovered, and unknown writers struggled to get someone to read their work. So, apparently, not much has changed.

Summer Break Theatre's Texas premiere of Midnight, directed by Rene Fulton and produced by Maggie Meador, embraces Epstein's old-school screwball comedy with a production that is fast, ridiculous, and, most importantly, very funny.

Set in a suite at New York's Ritz-Carlton, Midnight centers on Jimmy Halloway (Matrex Kilgore), a successful Hollywood director whose career could use a dash of artistic creativity. Enter Tony Simpolini (Jordan T. Maxwell), a self-taught writer from the Bronx with a script he desperately wants someone to read, a debt to a pair of Russian gangsters, and until midnight to come up with the money. Soon Tony is hiding in a closet as producers, lawyers, hotel workers, aspiring actors, gangsters, and unexpected guests move in and out of Jimmy's suite.

Epstein wrote Midnight as a throwback to the screwball and show-business comedies of an earlier era. Its influences are clear in the fast dialogue, heightened characters, mistaken identities, disguises, and situations that become more improbable as the night goes on. Beneath it all is a jab at show business and even its future, from reality television to the cost of Broadway tickets.

The chaos is carefully structured. Tony spends much of the first half hiding in the hotel's closet, listening as one person after another enters the suite wanting something from the director. Jimmy is trying to save his career, his lawyer is looking after his own interests, aspiring actors are trying to get noticed, and the Russian gangsters are waiting to collect a debt. As the different agendas collide, Fulton keeps the pieces moving and allows Epstein's comedy to build rather than treating each gag as a separate bit.

At the center of the plot are Tony and Evie Maryweather (Taylor Flanagan). Maxwell's Tony may be the only genuinely honest person in the room, which is especially funny considering he spends much of the play hiding in a closet. He wants Jimmy to read his script and makes no secret of it. Even with gangsters after him, he does not lie or connive the way those around him do. Perhaps he just hasn't been in show business long enough.

Evie, on the other hand, knows exactly how this world operates. Flanagan gives one of the strongest performances of the evening, making Evie smart, funny, and bold. She manages Jimmy's moods and the chaos around him with such confidence that it is hard not to wonder why she is the assistant rather than the boss, although in 1954 Hollywood the answer probably isn't hard to figure out.

Kilgore is equally strong as Jimmy, embracing the ego, mannerisms, and exaggerated physicality of a 1950s Hollywood director. Jimmy takes up a lot of space, both physically and figuratively, and Kilgore makes his self-importance funny without turning him into a caricature.

Mark Gerchak plays Theo Stintz, an aspiring Bronx actor masquerading as an English butler. His attempted accents occasionally make his dialogue hard to follow, but his wiry physicality carries the comedy when the words do not. By the time Theo reappears in full Scottish Highland dress and squares off against the Russian gangsters, Gerchak is fully in his element, and the sequence earns one of the biggest laughs of the evening.

Those gangsters, Moisha and Max Adelstein, are played by Brian Hensley and David Lampe and are far too funny to be frightening, as intended. The rest of the ensemble finds different ways into Epstein's comedy. Beau Paul brings an appropriately dry quality to Dennis Dean, Jimmy's lawyer, while Rick Felkins plays big-shot producer Harvey Gouldenberg and Anna Becker plays his companion, Florence. Hunter Houseton as Paulo and Ansh Tripathi as Ralph round out the Ritz staff, two bellboys caught up in a world where seemingly everyone is looking for a break.

Mel Edwards' scenic design gives the comedy the playground it needs. The Ritz suite feels substantial enough for Jimmy and his ego while providing the doors, entrances, exits, and, crucially, the closet that Epstein uses to keep rearranging who can see and hear whom. In a farce built around people arriving at exactly the wrong moment, the room itself becomes part of the joke.

There are a few rough edges, but they don’t diminish just how well the ensemble handles a style of comedy that is harder to perform than it looks. Farce depends on rhythm, timing, and physical commitment, and Fulton keeps the production moving without losing sight of what makes Epstein's play funny.

Summer Break Theatre itself is an important part of the story. Founded in Austin in 2019, the company was created by educators. Artists looking for a creative outlet after spending much of the year nurturing the creativity of their students. The teacher-centered company gives educators opportunities to return to the stage and work with other artists while also supporting the education community through free tickets, workshops, and resources for teachers.

It also makes Midnight a fitting choice for the company. Epstein's play is filled with writers, actors, directors, and dreamers trying to make something or get another chance. Summer Break Theatre gives its artists a place to do much the same.

Midnight doesn’t reinvent screwball comedy, nor does it need to. Epstein knows the form, Fulton understands it, and the cast commits to the chaos. More than seventy years later, the industry may not have changed much, but Summer Break Theatre gives us plenty of reasons to laugh at it.

It’s a fun evening out at the Ritz (in Austin)!

Duration: 2 hours and 30 minutes including one intermission.

MIDNIGHT
Written by David Epstein
Directed by Rene Fulton
Produced by Maggie Meador

Now playing through August 15th, 2026
Wednesday through Saturday at 7:30 PM

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