Review: ROOM SERVICE at The Vagabond Players
Plays through February 2nd 2025.
One room, four doors, a dozen-plus characters: mayhem ensues. The Vagabond Players’ production of ROOM SERVICE is a delightful homage to classic American farce. Directed by Steve Goldklang, this staging captures the wit and energy of John Murray and Allen Boretz’s 1937 comedy, which revolves around a Broadway producer's desperate attempts to keep his show alive while avoiding eviction from a New York hotel.
Set in the Empire Hotel’s Suite 904, the play thrives on snappy dialogue, slapstick comedy, and a tightly orchestrated sense of chaos. The ensemble cast displays impeccable timing and chemistry which keep the rapid-fire humor engaging and the antics believable. The production’s vintage flair also brings a nostalgic touch, appealing to fans of 1930s Hollywood and stage comedy.
Fast-talking, cash-strapped Gordon Miller (Matthew Lindsay Payne) pulls out all the stops to keep his American historical epic "Godspeed" in rehearsal. Payne plays the part with aplomb and wise-cracking confidence as the center of an increasingly unhinged circus of characters and circumstances. Miller takes advantage of his good-natured brother-in-law and hotel manager, Joseph Gribble (Lucius Robinson) who lets the whole cast and crew stay without paying. To complicate the situation, Gribble's bombastic boss, Gregory Wagner (Stephen Deininger) arrives on the scene to cut costs. The interplay between the teflon conman, the overwhelmingly nervous Gribble and his fire-breathing boss is very entertaining. Deininger practically manages to blow down the scenery and give himself a cardiac event every time he enters the room to the great amusement of the audience.
Meanwhile, Miller's buddies, eccentric director, Harry Binion (Andy Belt) and expert-in-dodging-bills assistant Faker Englund (Adam Garrison) end up in a merry-go-round of zany schemes to keep the show on life support. When naïve playwright, Leo Davis (Adrian Bagaric) unexpectedly appears, the lunacy escalates. Belt, Garrison and Bagaric enthusiastically jump onto the carousel of crazy to hilarous effect. As doors swing open and shut, the action speeds up as disaster grows closer.
Can Miller pull off a theatrical miracle? Watch him overcome every ludicrous obstacle that comes through the door. This talented cast and crew certainly light up the local stage with laughter on these grey winter days.
ROOM SERVICE plays through February 2nd 2025 at Vagabond Players, located at 806 S. Broadway. For tickets and more information, call (410) 563-9135 or go online to vagabondplayers.org.
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