Review: INTO THE BREECHES! at Mainstage Theater

Into the Breeches! delighted the audience on opening night at the Irving Arts Center. The comedy is set in Irving, Texas, in 1942 at the beginning of World War II. Into the Breeches! uses a familiar trope about a play within a play. The Oberon Playhouse’s owner is planning to shutter until the war ends. The usual director’s wife Maggie (played by Kim Harris) is determined not to let her husband’s plans for a Henriad be ruined. Maggie will keep the lights of The Oberon Playhouse on even if it means casting women for men's parts and other unexpected choices.

Harris plays Maggie as stubbornly marching forward to keep some semblance of normalcy while having anxieties about her husband’s safety, her capabilities, and her new friends. Mary-Margaret Pyeatt plays Celeste, the only experienced actress, with the appropriate haughtiness of an actress who sees herself as the Texas version of Sarah Bernhardt and Darise Error plays Winifred Snow with charming dopeyness. Maggie Dalton, the character, and Kim Harris, the actress, both have the role of reigning in a disparate group of characters and weaving them together. 

The characters of Into the Breeches! are thrust into roles on and off the stage that they would not otherwise be if there wasn’t a war. Many of the chuckles through Into the Breeches! come from how this unfurls. There are some good laughs, but Into the Breeches! also touches on themes like prejudice, standing up for what is right, and believing in yourself and those around you. It repeatedly has characters pushing their boundaries while they convince each other that Irving, Texas is ready for more than people may think.

Into the Breeches! is an excellent choice by the Irving Arts Center at a moment when some may need a reminder Shakespeare did drag, patriotism takes different forms, and being brave enough to be our authentic selves can create a richer community for all. It does not push the envelope so much as it shows us how far we have come in 80ish years and how much we would lose if we surrender the ground we have gained. 

Come early to check out a display of World War II-era photos, newspapers, and objects from Irving, Texas in the lobby.

Into the Breeches! Runs through March 22 at Mainstage Theater, Irving Arts Center. March 14, 15, 20, 21, 22 at 7:30 pm. March 16 at 2:30 pm.

3333 North MacArthur Blvd., Irving, TX 75062

Box Office:

Phone: 972-252-2787 (ARTS)
boxoffice@cityofirving.org
Hours: Noon to 5 pm, Tuesday through Saturday

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