Review: NOBODY'S PERFECT at Daytrippers Dinner Theatre

Sometimes all you want from an evening at the theatre is to laugh, and Nobody's Perfect delivers plenty of opportunities to do just that.

Simon Williams' comedy starts with a simple enough problem. Leonard Loftus has written a romance novel, but believing a women's publishing company won't seriously consider a male author, he submits it under the name Lulabelle Latiffa. When "Lulabelle" unexpectedly wins the competition, Leonard suddenly finds himself scrambling to keep the deception alive. What follows is a steady stream of misunderstandings, close calls, and increasingly ridiculous situations.

Director Bill Kenzie wisely lets the comedy speak for itself. The play moves quickly, and the cast keeps the energy high throughout. The script may not reinvent the wheel, but it understands exactly what it wants to be—a lighthearted farce filled with larger-than-life characters and escalating complications.

Ryan Maddux has the difficult task of carrying much of the action as Leonard, and he handles it with an appealing mix of nervousness and determination. The audience is in on the joke from the beginning, but Maddux keeps Leonard sympathetic enough that you want to see him somehow escape the mess he's created. His scenes as the glamorous and entirely fictional Lulabelle generate some of the evening's biggest laughs.

Anna Lakin is equally enjoyable as Harriet, the publisher who unknowingly becomes entangled in Leonard's deception. Lakin brings warmth and intelligence to the role, helping ground the story whenever it threatens to spin completely off the rails.

Kyleigh Grimsbo adds plenty of spark as Dee Dee, Leonard's daughter, while Dick Daly clearly has a great time as Gus, Leonard's father. Daly's comic timing is particularly strong, and many of his lines landed with the audience.

What makes Nobody's Perfect work is that beneath all the disguises and confusion, it's a surprisingly sweet story. The play never takes itself too seriously, and neither does this production. Instead, the cast embraces the silliness and invites the audience along for the ride.

Daytrippers Dinner Theatre audiences looking for a fun time out will likely find exactly that. Nobody's Perfect is an old-fashioned comedy in the best sense of the term—easy to enjoy, full of laughs, and carried by a cast that is clearly having as much fun as the audience.

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