Laughter Runs Wild in 'Run For Your Wife'

Webster Dictionary's definition of a farce is "a light dramatic work in which highly improbable plot situations, exaggerated characters, and often slapstick elements are used for humorous effect." The definition perfectly illustrates Ray Cooney's witty farce, Run For Your Wife, playing at the Metropolis Performing Centre in Arlington Heights.

The highly improbable plot focuses on London taxi driver, John Smith, played by Rick Smith, who has two wives: Mary, played by Rossana DiSilvio Woldman, and Barbara, played by Erin Ordway. Determined to keep his lie intact, John lives in two separate homes. He rooms with Mary in the mornings and resides with Barbara in the evenings. Unfortunately, John's meticulous plan is disrupted when he intervenes in a mugging and gets bonked on the head. After being treated in a hospital, he is dropped off at Mary's place at a time when he should have been home with Barbara. John desperately struggles to hold his scheme together while avoiding arrest by the police and suspicion from his wives.

Adding to the mix of the already exaggerated characters is the unemployed and lazy neighbor, Stanley, played by J. Ben Parker, a pair of nosy detectives, played by Charlie Beck and Eric Lenhart, and a highly effeminate upstairs neighbor, Bobby, played not so effeminately by Andrew J. Pond. The slapstick dialogue and physical comedy is non-stop and used quite effectively to keep the audience laughing. Smith is very likeable in his portrayal of the dishonest cabbie. Whether he is slamming a door in someone's face, pretending to mash potatoes with a farmer, or running on stage in nothing but his boxers, his charm and charisma has you cheering him on in the hope that he gets away with his web of lies. One of the funniest moments of the night is when Smith eats an entire newspaper so his wife won't read the headline.

On par with Smith's strong and amusing performance is the performance by Parker. He arguably has the funniest lines in the script and delivers them with great panache. Parker's comedic timing is brilliant and the chemistry between he and Smith was hysterical to watch, especially when he pretends to be a farmer that sounds more like a pirate. Unfortunately, the strong performances end there. Beck and Lenhart were forgettable in their roles as the Detectives, and Orday's portrayal of Barbara was sweet rather than sexy and voluptuous, as the role calls for. The weakest performance of the night was Woldman's portrayal of Mary. Given the dialect coach listed on the production staff, Woldman's English accent should have been much stronger. Her accent came across as a mix between Yiddish, Irish, and Middle-Eastern, and her nervous breakdowns came across as annoying instead of funny.

Despite some lackluster performances from the cast, t hey were all very quick on their feet the entire evening. When there was a technical glitch and the onstage phone didn't ring, they were very prompt in improvising, which only added to the laughter. Cooney's story has terrific tempo, precision and wit. His story gets madder and funnier as it goes along and this production keeps the audience in stitches.

Run For Your Wife
When: Through March 5th
Where: Metropolis Performing Arts Centre, 111 W. Campbell St., Arlington Heights, IL
Prices: $19 - $37

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