BWW Reviews: New FUN BETWEEN THE COVERS Brings Laughs At Rainbow Dinner Theatre

New plays sometimes are complete farces, and all one can do is laugh at them. Sometimes that's exactly the reaction the playwright wants, and a fine example of that thought working out successfully is at Rainbow Dinner Theatre right now. FUN BETWEEN THE COVERS, by Rainbow veteran but new playwright John Delancey (no, not John DeLancie) is one such play. Directed by Scott Russell, the show features authors and bookstores as one rarely sees them.

As is so often the case at Rainbow, the set for this show is astonishing. It is the bookstore of one's dreams, clearly independent, full of new books in a setting usually reserved for better used book stores, with Victorian furniture, tea, a reading room, and the seductive sight of floor-to-ceiling shelves filled with books and a staircase up to another level full of yet more books. Any book lover will recognize Delancey's, Russell's, and Cindy DiSavino's resulting creation as the archetypal bookstore they have always sought. With five doors on stage (and a referenced back window in the script), any theatre lover also will recognize it as the setting for slapdash farce.

Farce is exactly what is delivered. Joe Winters plays Harry Kettleman, bookstore owner and husband of Frannie Kettleman, obsessive follower of author Portia St. Goode, a health food writer with groupies across the country. Frannie has decided that a book signing will bring in enough money to help Kettleman's Books pay off its mortgage, and so a lavish event, complete with caterers, has been planned.

Standing in the way of success are the shop's maintenance man, Ozzie (Delancey) and his close personal relationship with the building's furnace, which he's given a pet name. Why is he keeping the building sauna-hot on a fine day? And how can one cool down except by drinking vast quantities of Portia's health-food punch that's been put out for patrons to drink? How will quaffing all of that eucalyptus affect the crowd? Other complications include banker J. Norman Barnstead (Bradley "Bing" Ingersoll), a man unsure if he'd rather be sailing or drinking as he pines for lost loves and plans to take the property back from Henry and Frannie, and officer Dwayne B. Hinkle (Jimmy "2Step" Cosentino), who worries about the crowd control from having such a popular author present.

Portia St. Goode, health food writer and mystery woman, is played with a definite diva flair by Casey Allyn. Portia watches women fight to dress like her, down to her trademark huge sunglasses, while downing huge quantities of her eucalyptus punch and hiding her past, as her assistant, Eddie (Jonathan Erkert) fights to meet her public appearance requirements and a growing mob outside the store, and as reporter Carrie Crandall (Rachel Blauberg) tries to break in to photograph Portia without her sunglasses.

But all of these problems are nothing, and these characters are nothing, next to the towering presence of Mabel the furnace, spouting geysers of steam and water like clockwork as Ozzie and Henry fight over how to keep the bookstore at anything approaching a normal temperature for the store-saving book signing.

For farce lovers, there are plenty of rushed entrances and exits, doors locked inconveniently, and the general level of mayhem that keeps rising like the temperature in the bookshop. And the number of mistaken identities thanks to crazed Portia-copying by fans and others may be at an all-time high for one play. A truly devoted follower of traditional non-bedroom farce may have the major twists figured out quickly, but it's still worth seeing exactly how they play out, and the casual audience member should be dazzled by the spectacular confusion presented. All's well in the end, as a good farce should allow, and even Mabel has a star turn in the conclusion, as she deserves.

Particularly noteworthy are Delancey's performance as Ozzie the maintenance man from hell, incapable of hearing any direction he doesn't care to follow, and Cosentino's physical comedy as he attempts to make sure that crowd control devices operate properly. Sherry Konjura as Frannie is also delightful, dedicated to both saving her business and worshipping Portia, and the results of trying to do both together will surprise the audience. Everyone knows a Frannie, and will enjoy her tremendously. And, of course, the set, which does feature the prominent presence of Mabel herself.

At Rainbow through May 25, and worth taking a look for the devoted comedy lover - this is a surprisingly fine first play, especially given the complications of farce. One hopes Delancey will eventually take this play further; it would be worth producing outside of Rainbow later. Call 717-687-4300 or visit www.rainbowdinnertheatre.com for tickets.

Graphic Credit: Rainbow Dinner Theatre