Hedgerow Veteran Actors Star in 10th Annual Cooney Farce

As Hedgerow Theatre opens its tenth annual Ray Cooney farce this weekend, there are two things audiences can count on. First, this year's play, Two Into One, will have all the door-slamming, double entendres and giddy hilarity they've come to expect. Second, the cast will include Hedgerow veteran actors Susan Wefel and Zoran Kovcic, who've appeared in each of the theatre's Cooney farces to date.

In her 33 years as a company member, Ms. Wefel has performed countless roles in all genres of plays, but looks forward to the Cooney farces each summer. "They're just so much fun to do," she said. "Laughter is always rewarding, and the actors have a good time watching how silly their cast mates can be. It's hard to tell sometimes who's enjoying themselves more, the cast or the audience."

Two Into One features some of the characters from Out of Order, which was Hedgerow's Cooney selection in 2006. Kovcic, part of the company since 1991, is again playing George Pigden, the bumbling assistant to a Member of Parliament, in addition to designing the set. According to Wefel, "Zoran is great in this role. He has a perfect ‘mug' and does a masterful job of deadpan."

Both Wefel and Kovcic agreed that farce is different than regular comedy and harder to do well. "It's the most difficult form of theater, but it's also the most rewarding because of the partnership with the audience," explained Kovcic. "You have to be dead earnest. You're playing a ridiculous person in a desperate situation, but you think you're perfectly normal." "We're lucky to have Jared Reed as director," added Wefel, "who knows how to best play the gags."

There is a preview of Two Into One on Thursday, June 2 at 7:30 p.m., before the official opening on Friday, June 3, also at 7:30. It runs through August 7.

Tickets are $25 for adults, $22 for seniors, and $10 for students with valid ID and children under 18. Also available is a special Flex-Six discount package of six mix-and-match tickets to any show for $130 for adults or $110 for seniors. For reservations, call 610-565-4211, or visit www.hedgerowtheatre.org. Hedgerow Theatre, America's First Repertory Theatre, is located at 64 Rose Valley Road, in Rose Valley (near Media).

Photo: Shaun Yates, Susan Wefel, Rebecca Cureton and Zoran Kovcic
Photo by Ashley Smith