Drayton Entertainment’s 25th anniversary line up continues to wow audiences at each of the theatre company’s seven venues.
General manager Peter Black says Last Chance Romance, currently playing at the St. Jacob’s Country Playhouse, continues a trend of sellout audiences at most performances.
A quirky romance between Leonard Shank, played by Kevin Kruchkywich, and Myra Witzer, played by Daniela Vlaskalic, provides the catalyst for the action in this screwball comedy.
Set in Shank’s apartment, the play begins with him calling Witzer for a date, after receiving her phone number two years previous.
Witzer, accompanied by her mother, waits patiently for Shank to show for their first date the following day. Witzer is determined to marry and sees Shank as her last chance at love.
Shank is uninterested and gets involved with Witzer through a series of circumstances orchestrated by Witzer’s aggressive and manipulative nature. Switzer’s uncle Fred, a lawyer, and cousin Gloria, a therapist, are part of the scheme.
As their relationship, fraught with zany and sometimes hazardous escapades, intensifies, Witzer starts to feel the thrill of the chase is more fun than the conquest.
Witty banter between the protagonists keeps the audience laughing.
Playwright Sam Bobrick, known for the TV classics The Andy Griffith Show, Bewitched and Get Smart, has created a play that examines humanity’s desire to love and be loved and the quest for matrimonial bliss.
Kruchkywich uses facial expressions, hand gestures and body language to convey the comedy built into his role.
Witzer, a love struck woman whose nuptial clock is ticking as she approaches her early 40s, is played by Vlaskalic with enthusiasm. The audience is drawn to her as they wait to see what’s going to happen next.
Versatile actress Susan Henley plays Gloria Fossberg, Myra’s outspoken, no-nonsense therapist who steers her clients in the wrong direction. Myra’s amusing mother, Florence, who doesn’t beat around the bush, is also played by Henley, who adds a third role with Sylvia, a nurse caring for Shank at his apartment.
Uncle Fred, played by Paul Brown, joins the couple on their first date. While drawing up a pre-nuptual agreement with the couple, he creates a scene that is full of confusion and comedy. Brown also portrays Howard, a gentleman interested in pursuing Witzer.
In her Drayton Entertainment debut, director Johanna Wright shows strong abilities, guiding the cast through this peculiar comedy.
Set designer Samantha Burson kept the props simple, allowing for easy changes between scenes. Along with Shank’s bachelor apartment, Burson created an eye catching, colour-filled restaurant booth.
Louise Guinand, lighting designer, also went with basic, clean lighting.
Last Chance Romance runs from until Aug. 9 at St. Jacobs Country Playhouse. For ticket information visit www.stjacobscountryplayhouse.com or call 519-747-7788 or toll free at 1-855-drayton (372-9866).
