by Tim Leininger

Photo courtesy of Music Theatre of Connecticut

            Broad farce tees off at Music Theatre of Connecticut with Ken Ludwig’s rollicking comedy The Fox and the Fairway, directed by Amy Griffin, and running through Nov. 23 at Music Theatre of Connecticut at 509 Westport Avenue in Norwalk, Connecticut.

            Ken Ludwig is a popular playwright up here in Connecticut. Aside from William Shakespeare and Connecticut native Jacques Lamarre, I’ve seen more plays by Ludwig in the past nine years of reviewing theater than I have of anyone else. It makes sense. His plays are generally single set shows, so no major set changes; of the shows that I’ve seen, generally small casts of under 10 characters except for his adaptation of Murder on the Orient Express. So, Ludwig shows tend to be economical. Regardless of whether it be an Agatha Christie murder mystery or a raucous comedy like Moon Over Buffalo, Ludwig’s work always carries with it an inherent funny bone hidden within that begs to be tickled.

            The same is true with The Fox on the Fairway, which had the audience rolling in their seats with laughter the night I was in attendance. It’s not Ludwig’s most clever work, but with a dedicated cast of six who throw themselves into their roles it makes for an entertaining two hours of theater for those who find such broad comedy to their taste, in the spirit of slapstick comedies of the 1930s and 1940s.

Photo courtesy of Music Theatre of Connecticut

            Taste is inherent to one’s liking in exaggerated farcical comedies like this. It’s either going to be your cup of tea or it won’t. The play centers around Bingham (Josh Powell), the director of the Quail Valley Country Club, who is at risk of losing his job if the club loses for the fifth year in a row to the neighboring country club in an annual golf tournament. The opposing club’s manager, Dickie (Sean Hannon), wagers a $200,000 bet with Bingham that his club will win. When Dickie, at the last minute, signs Quail Valley’s best golfer, Bingham must find someone to fill in, which he does with his new employee Justin (Ted Gibson), who, with his scores, could easily be pro.

            Things get more complicated as Justin — who has severe mood swings when under severe stress — proposes to his girlfriend Louise (Erin M. Williams), who promptly loses her engagement ring, which happens to have been handed down from Justin’s grandmother. Bingham, along with his assistant, Pamela (Missy Dowse) — who happens to be Dickie’s ex-wife — must manage Justin’s emotional well-being. Bingham and Pamela must manage their own budding passions as well, especially once Bingham’s own wife, Muriel (Anette Michelle Sanders) shows up.

            There are a lot of balls juggling at once as the characters run about with frenetic pace, but director Griffin does an excellent job of never letting anything get too out of hand. The choreographed running and tossing about of a $10,000 vase are a highlight of how synchronized every last movement is of the cast, done with a precision that would have the Marx Brothers proud.

Photo courtesy of Music Theatre of Connecticut

            My preferred style of acting with farce tends to lean more toward what would best be described as farcical naturalism, or maybe sublime farce, where the actors play the characters with an unknowingness for how absurd they’re behaving. Some of the cast get there, and others get close. It’s just a matter of pulling back just a little at a couple points to have the later, funnier elements elevate. Dowse and Sanders, in particular, get the balance right. When there is a sequence of running in and out of rooms, Dowse stops and just leans against the bar and pours herself a drink. I love it. It’s simple acting that elevates the comedy by counterbalancing the larger elements coming from the other actors in the moment. As adorable as Gibson and Williams are as Justin and Louise, everything they do is huge and overly dramatic. A little pulling back on the reins just a little in the more simple, romantic moments would go a long way.

            The play is set in The Tap Room, the club’s bar, and Sean Sanford’s scenic design is pretty simple and practical to withstand the barreling about by the cast. I love Diane Vanderkroef’s costumes. The dresses for the ladies are fantastic and dynamic to the ladies’ personalities, while the men wear outlandish golf attire. Dickie’s sweaters are the equivalent of Ugly Christmas Sweaters and Justin’s argyle socks are perfectly outrageous.

            The play is centered around golf, and as a person who enjoys visiting the links from time to time, I was happy for the most part on the accuracy of the actors with the language and the props of the play in using the clubs, except for one moment when one character at the end of the play is supposed to make a putt, and they use an iron. There was a putter earlier in the play, so I know it’s there backstage. The character would know what a putter is, so I hope they can fix that error with the properties.

Photo courtesy of Music Theatre of Connecticut

            The Fox and the Fairway is a delightful slapstick comedy. I appreciate that it isn’t everyone’s favorite thing, but if you are a fan of broad, absurd comedy at a heightened scale, you’ll have a blast at MTC.

THE FOX AND THE FAIRWAY

PRODUCTION: Written by Ken Ludwig; Directed by Amy Griffin; Sound Design by Jon Damast; Costume Design by Diane Vanderkroef; Lighting Design by Peter Petrino; Scenic Design by Sean Sanford; Stage managed by Geovanni Colón Rosario; Assistant Director and Fight/Intimacy Direction by Dan O’Driscoll

CAST (alphabetically by actor)

Missy Dowse as Pamela

Ted Gibson as Justin

Sean Hannon as Dickie

Josh Powell as Bingham

Anette Michelle Sanders as Muriel

Erin M. Williams as Louise