Review: CLO's PERFECT WEDDING Rings Comedy Bells

A true comedy of errors filled with couples engaged and enraged in wedding jitters, Perfect Wedding at the CLO Cabaret is the madcap comedy of the summer that will make you think twice about saying, "I do."

The entirety of the show is compressed into one hotel suite, which encompasses the entire stage - a drawing room with sofa and mini bar on stage right and a master bedroom with tousled sheets and a door to the bathroom on stage left. Elegant pink wall paneling with white trim adorn the country inn quarters, and doors along the back wall exit to the hotel hallway. It is a romantic honeymoon suite for the soon-to-be honeymooners Rachel (Hope Anthony) and Bill (Michael Greer). The only thing standing in their way is Bill...and the woman he slept with on the night before his wedding day...in the honeymoon suite.

With Rachel on her way up to the suite, Bill tries to remember what happened the night before and tells the woman (Julia Geisler) to stay in the bathroom and pretend to be the maid if anyone should ask. Bill tells his friend Tom (Tim McGreever) of his dilemma and asks for his help in the debacle, but the lies and deception only build as mistaken identities and made up stories become hilariously impossible to keep straight.

When the characters are confronted about one lie, I often found myself wondering how they would get out of it, but sure as a wedding dress is white, the characters dug deeper into their descent of deceit and of keeping the truth from Rachel. Heck, even the maid (Julianne Avolio) got swept away in the charade.

Perfect Wedding is written with clever wit, sexual innuendos, and turns of phrase. The actors and the directors embellish and exaggerate, using the stage and minimal props to amplify the calamity. Conventions of contemporary comedy are seen both visually and audibly that resonate with the crowd. The show is a light-hearted comedy that can be enjoyed by most anyone. It is by no means highbrow, nor does it try to be, nor does it need to be.

As a wedding guest, this show has everything any normal wedding would have: delicious tapas, themed drinks, and good laughs. You can't help but notice the absence of a Pittsburgh Cookie Table, but at least you don't have to spend money on a gift! RSVP before the tables fill up!

To see or not to see score: 6/9; Moderately Recommended Show

Photo by: Archie Carpenter

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