Review: GIRLS' WEEKEND Premieres at the Belmont

Ah, there's nothing like a nice, peaceful getaway with a couple of friends to your cabin in the woods. On a lovely spring weekend. With nobody else around. And a case of wine. It's great in theory. What, though, if something goes wrong?

What if EVERYTHING goes wrong? What if it starts snowing like mad unexpectedly? What if one of you who's trying to get pregnant starts ovulating and wants her husband there immediately? What if you wind up with a date and don't want anyone else to know you're leaving overnight, in a blizzard? What if two of you brought your weed stash, and the local sheriff drops in to tell you the roads are closing? What if someone you know that you don't want to see tries to break in the cabin? And what if all of this is going on and the sheriff is having too much fun to leave?

That's the premise of GIRLS' WEEKEND, a newish comedy - a farce, really - by Des Moines performer Karen Schaeffer. The show, which originally appeared at the Des Moines Community Playhouse, received its East Coast premiere at The Belmont Theatre in York, which Schaeffer attended on opening night. She was delighted with the production, as was the audience.

A cast of eight veteran area performers, featuring Christine Koslovsky as cabin owner Dot (she may be remembered as Olga Ten Dorp in YLT's DEATHTRAP) and Stephanie Trdenic (BLITHE SPIRIT at Oyster Mill) as Meg, her best friend and confidante... who doesn't quite tell Dot as much about herself as Dot tells Meg. Heather Stoll plays Carol, the "new girl" in the circle of friends, and Rebecca Schrom (BAT BOY) Meg's daughter Ellie, invited along to spend time with her mother. The women make a fine ensemble, and they're delightfully funny, especially Koslovsky, whose Dot owns a large stash of medicinal marijuana stored at the cabin... to treat her late dog's glaucoma.

Rick, Carol's hubby, is played by Kovlosky's real-life husband, Greg Kovlosky (A FEW GOOD MEN), and we may be glad that his real wife was kind enough to share on stage, as he's riotously funny as the husband who has to sneak in and then hide. Phil Rearich (the mad Renfield of YLT's DRACULA) is Bubba, Ellie's drunken date who comes to the cabin to break in to see her. Rearich's part is comedy gold, and Rearich knows exactly what to do with it. Stephen, Dot's son-who-came-to-visit... but not to see his mother... is played by Brian Gilbert, last of CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG. Rick Osborn (who last year kicked up his heels in another Belmont farce, SEX PLEASE, WE'RE SIXTY) plays the local sheriff, purveyor of traffic news and prodigious drinker of coffee, with poker-faced good humor and an amazing ability not to notice what's going on in front of him.

Andrea Stephenson, the director, holds the madness together at a steady pace, which in the second act is nearly as fast as the snow is piling up against the cabin.

There isn't a lot of farce being written or produced these days, which is unfortunate; some of the best of it, like Paul Slade Smith's UNNECESSARY FARCE, is coming from actors themselves. Count Scheaffer as another performer who can put together a contemporary farce and make it stick. The genre itself isn't outdated; the problem has been a lack of truly good modern productions from others than Ken Ludwig. Smith's UNNECESSARY FARCE has been one of the successes of modern farce, and GIRLS' WEEKEND deserves more exposure in order to become another one. It's nicely paced, its problems are relatable to contemporary audiences, the characters are surprisingly real for farce, and it has some one-liners that are actually fresh and silly. It's an enjoyable diversion from the real world, and we need more of that these days.

At the Belmont's Bon Ton Studio through, alas, January 22 only. Call 717-854-5715 for tickets. Be on the look, as well, especially all Jekkies in the area, for the Belmont's upcoming JEKYLL AND HYDE.

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