‘Those Crazy Ladies’ in the corner house amuse in Texan playwright’s comedy
THOSE CRAZY LADIES IN THE HOUSE ON THE CORNER. Two-act comedy by Pat Cook. Director/decor Judith Herbig. Staircase design Robert Minshall. Set/lighting Fin McCormick. Presented by Milnerton Players. At The Milnerton Playhouse. Fridays and Saturdays until August 8. SHEILA CHISHOLM reviews DIRECTOR Judith Herbig has translocated Texan playwright Pat Cook’s comedy to “somewhere” in South Africa in the 1980s. That sensible move avoided spending valuable time coaching American accents from her nine-member cast. Although a local setting meant a typ- ical American Halloween party for witches, fairies, cut-out pumpkin faces and flying bat decorations, it didn’t quite hold the same significance. But South Africans do know about “trick or treat’, so the scene’s humour achieved due recognition.
Those crazy ladies – Maggie (Roz Fitzgerald-Turner), Dora (Beryl Eichenberger) and Lydia (Yvette de Lucchi) are not so much crazy as elderly, querulous, widowed sisters living under one roof – a neatly designed duplex called the Brown House.
Maggie takes care of housekeeping chores. Dora sews. Lydia oversees meals. Maggie remembers well past incidents, but is dithery about present events. Dora, strongest personality of the sisters, constantly interrupts and contradicts. Timid Lydia, is easily “put-down”. She’s the only sister whose family features.
Phillipa (Colleen Lorusso), Lydia’s hard-nosed business-minded daughter is, under pretence that the three women can no longer look after themselves, plans to move them into a retirement home. Truth is, her eye is on the large commission she’ll earn if she sells their house to a B&B consortium.
When Doc Lomas (Petra Schiebe) introduces Jean (Kalika Welgemoed) a pretty young nurse into the household, things start to hum.
While the sisters continue squabbling, Jean’s gentle influence gradually changes their acerbic attitudes. Lydia becomes more assertive, less dowdy, but retains rather excessive opening and clasping of her hands. Maggie and Dora take to jogging. As the pair burst onto the stage, with Eichenberger tooting her red tooter and Maggie wearing a most extraordinary outfit, the scene represented such character changes the audience hooted so heartily the actors too started giggling. However they soon gained composure and carried on.
Initially Those Crazy Ladies seemed under-rehearsed. Lines were missed. Cues were slow. Fortunately, once they settled down their combined energy propelled their characterisations amusingly forward. Of the three sisters, Eichenberger appeared the most focussed. Her strong personality, good projection and easy confidence give her Dora an edge.
Fitzgerald-Turner held her own as an elderly soul shaking off Alzheimer’s grip. Schiebe’s stage presence stamped her Doc Lomas as a professionally sincere, honest doctor, deeply concerned about her patients welfare. So her hilarious “tipsy” scene came completely by surprise. It’s worthy of a CATA nomination.
It’s notable that Herbig took care producing Cook’s leading ladies. The same could not be said for smaller (cameo) roles. Calvin (Ryan Bird), Blue (Craig Seconna) Pick n Pay delivery lad, and Jessie (Sheila Grant) required better direction to enable them to produce definition in their characterisations and speech.
Except for an age gap between characters making nonsense of the ending’s twist, Those Crazy Ladies is quite amusing.
Shows August 7 and 8. Matinees on August 1 and 8. Tickets matinees R70, evenings R80, 082 267 1061, book ings@milnertonplayers.com
When Doc Lomas (Petra Schiebe) introduces a nurse into the household, things start to hum. Schiebe’s tipsy scene is worthy of a CATA nomination.