Review: CHARLEY'S AUNT at Kechi Playhouse

When my college choral professor pulled out a song that the choir had sung frequently, he would call it “a sugar stick.”   Sugar stick refers to something that has been repeated repeatedly and needs very little work to prepare.  Charley’s Aunt is Kechi Playhouse owner/director Misty Maynard’s sugar stick.   She drags it out every few years, dusts it off, and puts it onstage for a month.  This production marks the fifth time it has been performed on Maynard’s stage, but that doesn’t mean this production isn’t side-splittingly funny. It’s a riot!

A farce in three acts by playwright Brandon Thomas, CHARLEY’S AUNT was first presented in 1892 in Great Britain. It was an instant hit and ran 1466 performances. In 1893, the play crossed the Atlantic to arrive on Broadway, again a big hit. CHARLEY’S AUNT has been performed across the globe for over 130 years and has always delighted audiences. The uproarious people-pleasing farce has been adapted to film, both silent in 1915 and sound in 1930, with the most famous screen version starring Jack Benny in 1941. The play even became a 1948 Broadway musical called Where’s Charley, starring Ray Bolger.

The familiar story centers on Lord Fancourt Babberly, an undergraduate whose friends, Jack and Charley, persuade him to impersonate Charley’s Aunt Donna Lucia to act as a chaperone so they can court their sweethearts, Amy and Kitty.   Mix in a couple of older, financially broke male relatives who, hearing of Donna Lucia’s great wealth, are determined to win her heart, however unattractive they may find her. The final twist to the plot occurs when Charley’s real aunt arrives but keeps her identity secret.  The attempts to woo the fake aunt are hilarious.  And the plot plays out with an ending leading to several engagements and, of course, full disclosure of who’s who!

Charley’s Aunt has some very humorous dialogue, but that comes through most aptly through the hard work of the cast, whom Maynard directs splendidly.  One of the lines that becomes his/her signature introduction is that the aunt is from Brazil, “where the nuts come from!” This line comes early on and gets big laughs every time it is used.

The fast-paced plot is helped along by Brassett (Brian Fender), Charley and Jack’s butler. Fender begins each scene by turning to the audience and catching us up on what has happened.  He makes these scenes feel natural and pays homage to the show’s original setting of Oxford University.  His dry delivery of lines adds much to some of the funniest moments in the show and reassures us that we are squarely in a British farce.

The comedy of the show rests firmly on the shoulders of Braden Layman, who plays Lord Fancourt Babberly and, more importantly, Charley’s (fake) aunt. Layman commits so readily and so delightfully to the physical comedy of the show, to a “lady’s” voice for the aunt, and facial expression after hilarious facial expression, that it is hard to look away. His physical comedy is a hoot; just the way he pours out afternoon tea is almost worth the price of admission. Layman’s sense of comic timing is spot on.

If you can glance away from Layman for a moment, you will catch a glimpse of Charley (Colton Farmer) and Jack (Andrew Johnson).  Farmer is making his Kechi debut with this show and is perfectly cast as Charley, and it's fun to watch him squirm as the deception gets increasingly out of hand.  I hope we see more of him.  The interactions between these three actors make the play move along. Johnson suitably balances Farmer, pushing through whatever lies he must tell to get to a proposal he has been rehearsing since the opening scene.  Johnson is a good solid actor but seems “a little long in the tooth” to be playing a young college man, especially against Farmer and Layman.

The young, sweet ladies of the play don’t get as much chance at comedy as you might hope. Kitty (Kelsi Harris) and Amy (Emily Redfield) do seem to have fun torturing their beaus and both do a good job fawning over Charley’s (fake) aunt. Their demure but determined behavior gives a sweet picture of what being chaperoned on a date was like. Both Harris and Redfield deliver good, believable performances. Ashley  Ferrer is superb as Ela, Donna Lucia’s coy ward.   Ela has a secret crush on Lord Babberly and enjoys pestering Babberly while he’s in drag. 

Elisa Balleau plays Charley’s real aunt Donna Lucia.  Balleau is lovely onstage with a beautiful demeanor, which allows the chaos around her to look even funnier. I enjoyed her knowing smile as the real aunt watching the others act out their nonsense around her. Her suitor, Sir Francis Chesney (Mike Shryock), is smarmy but smitten with his rediscovered love.  Shryock’s British accent was unbalanced, but his energy  and delivery were good. Matt Fenwick is very humorous, and he wafts across the stage as Stephen Spettigue in his constant pursuit of the imposter aunt. Fenwick’s portrayal evoked audience laughs and sympathy, even though his character is a flat-out gold-digger.

The sets, constructed by Richard Schultz, are simple but barren, especially in the opening scene in the dormitory.   The terrace scenes are recycled from the last production of The Importance of Being Earnest, but work rather nicely for this show.  Christy Railsback’s costumes are beautifully colorful and well done, especially the ladies' costumes.  The production Stage Manager is Sheree Yeoman.

My advice if you attend:   Put your cell phone away and don’t look at your watch.  Yes, the play run time is almost three hours long, but I promise you’ll leave having had a great time.  Charley’s Aunt runs  through July 27, 2025.  Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 pm and Sundays at 2:30 pm.

Up next at Kechi Playhouse:  Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing runs August 1 through 24.  Reservations can be made by calling 316-744-2152.