Review: MCC'S Moon Over Buffalo Brings Out the Laughs and Comedy to McHenry
In the McHenry County area, there's always such great theatre going on, and that's what I got when I went to see McHenry County College's hilarious production of Ken Ludwig's Moon Over Buffalo directed by the wonderful Regina Belt-Daniels.
In the madcap comedy tradition of Ludwig's Lend me a Tenor, the hilarious Moon Over Buffalo centers on George (the very funny Jay Geller) and Charlotte Hay (the brilliant Shannon Mayhall, winner of the 2016 Broadway World Chicago Award for Best Actress in a play (Resident/Equity)), fading stars of the 1950's. At the moment, they're playing Private Lives and Cyrano De Bergerac in rep in Buffalo, New York with 5 actors. On the brink of a disastrous split-up caused by George's dalliance with a young ingénue (Katie Kallaus), they receive word that they might just have one last shot at stardom: Frank Capra is coming to town to see their matinee, and if he likes what he sees, he might cast them in his movie remake of The Scarlet Pimpernel. Unfortunately for George and Charlotte, everything that could go wrong does go wrong, abetted by a visit from their daughter's (the lovely and funny Trace Gamache) clueless fiancé (Sean Plotts)and hilarious uncertainty about which play they're actually performing, caused by Charlotte's deaf, old stage-manager mother (the hilarious Kathie Comella) who hates every bone in George's body.
This cast really works their butts off. The comic timing is brilliant and the actors have a motivation for everything they do in the show. Other Great Performances include Jeff Cook, who plays Richard, the attorney in love with Charlotte, and Brendan Gaughan as Paul, George and Charlotte's manager, who's in love with Roz, their daughter.
Other notable mentions include set design by Tom Kesling, lighting design by Rick Amundsen, costume design by Kathy Brunke, props design by Lori Mages, stage combat by Bill Daniel and stage manager Kathryn McCord.
Most of the shows have already been sold out with well-deserved standing ovations, so if you have nothing to do this weekend, get your butt over to McHenry County College to see this dynamite production before it closes!
Running through June 25th. Tickets are $15 for general public and $12 for students, MCC faculty/staff, alumni and senior citizens. To reserve a seat or for more information, call Jay Geller at (815) 455-8746 or email jgeller@mchenry.edu.
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