Sometimes the second time can be the charm. Just ask Brooklyn-based Broadway actor and playwright Paul Slade Smith and Okanagan-based actor/director Matt Brown.
Slade Smith’s second ever script has turned out to be one of his greatest successes so far, as local audiences will see when his Unnecessary Farce opens at Vernon’s Powerhouse Theatre starting Wednesday.
Back to direct a Powerhouse play is Brown, who now lives in West Kelowna, and is presenting Unnecessary Farce as Powerhouse’s entry into this year’s Okanagan Zone (O-Zone) Drama Festival, taking place at the Frank Venables Theatre in Oliver May 21 to 28.
Brown is hoping for a repeat at the festival from when he directed the award-winning horror The Woman in Black for Powerhouse in 2012.
That play won best production, best direction, and a whole load of other awards at the 2012 O-Zones as well as at Theatre BC’s Mainstage Festival.
“This is not a classic play to take to festival at all. It will be a surprise and hopefully will provide some belly laughs,” said Brown. “It’s far from The Woman in Black. The cues for that play alone were more than 350 for lighting and sound. For this show, you can count on your fingers and toes how many cues there are.”
As gathered by the title, the play is a farce in the true sense of the word, in that it contains mistaken identity, exaggerated or improbable situations, over-the-top characters, and physical exertion.
However, rather than your “cutesy” farce, this show has a bit more of an edge.
“There’s a lot of innuendo,” said Brown.
“I’ve had another farce put into my lap before that was translated from a French play. That one did not have the same nuances that this one has in that the jokes did not crossover well… This one was written for an American audience. It is the equivalent of a popcorn flick in that it’s not too deep or complex, but is pure entertainment.”
Unnecessary Farce has also been received well in Canada and overseas, where it has been produced more than 200 times since the play made its premiere in 2006.
The farce is best described from its tagline: “Two cops. Three crooks. Eight doors. Go.”
What comes off as a game of cops and a robber, in this case, a mayor suspected of embezzling funds, turns out to be a bumbling mess when said politician and an amorous accountant think they are alone behind closed doors, but are actually being spied upon by two police officers.
Chaos ensues when a secret service-style agent, a Scottish hit man, and the mayor’s wife enter the picture.
Unnecessary Farce could be compared to another comedy of errors that Brown directed in 2011 for Powerhouse.
“It’s a bit like Lend Me a Tenor in the formula that you see in farce. And of course, there is a lot of slamming of doors. There’s actually eight doors in the show and there’s that physicality. We do a half-hour warm up at every rehearsal,” said Brown.
As can be imagined, the right actors are needed for a production as this one, and Brown says his cast of seven are up to the task.
“There is only one person in the cast whom I have worked with before,” he said. “It’s exciting for me as I love to work with new people. I’ve enjoyed that getting-to-know-one-another process and creating a new dynamic vibe. Our cast has instantly forged as a family. It’s a true ensemble. There’s no real main character.”
The show also features a number of crew members who worked on The Woman in Black with Brown, including assistant director Kristine Larsen.
“I’ve so loved working with these people. For this to happen again, it couldn’t come at a better time,” said Brown.
Unnecessary Farce is recommended for PG-13 as it contains mature content and strong language. The play runs at Powerhouse April 27 to May 7 (no shows Monday) at 7:30 p.m., with matinées May 1 and 7 at 2 p.m. Tickets are at the Ticket Seller, 250-549-7469, www.ticketseller.ca.
