Review: YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU at Carlisle Theatre Players On High

If you think your family is quirky, wait until you meet the Sycamore family. You Can't Take It with You by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart features the wacky Sycamore family as they meet their daughter Alice's future in-laws, the Kirbys. This Pulitzer Prize winning play premiered in 1936 at the Booth Theatre on Broadway and was later adapted for the screen in 1938 starring Jimmy Stewart and Jean Arthur. Audiences have one last opportunity to catch this madcap comedy at Carlisle Theatre on April 2nd.

The set is designed to highlight the Sycamore family's eccentricities. Featuring a desk with typewriter, a basket of manuscripts, a xylophone, masks and paintings on the walls, a tank of snakes, and a large dining table, the set gives the audience clues as to the family's wide-ranging interests as well as their tendency toward chaos. Unfortunately, the evening this reviewer saw the production the microphones were so loud that the voices were distorted by an echo and some of the lines were unintelligible. With the majority of the audience being seated in the front half of the auditorium, this performance would have benefitted from either a major decrease in volume or not using the microphones at all and simply projecting. While some of the humor was lost due to this sound issue, the actors gave an energetic performance, and the gist of the action was able to be discerned through their facial expressions and body language.

Katy Clay, Lesley Newcome, Logan Weaver, Shane Shuma, RJ Lesch, and Mike Shevlin make up the core of the Sycamore family. Clay and Lesch take on the roles of Penny (a playwright) and Paul (fireworks manufacturer), who are the parents of Essie (played by Logan Weaver) and Alice (played by Lesley Newcome). Clay and Lesch give solid performances that emphasize the fact that quirkiness is just a way of life for the Sycamore family-they do not see their eccentricities as the least bit strange. Weaver's Essie is sweet, naïve, and enthusiastic as she dances around the stage. Shane Shuma portrays Essie's husband Ed Carmichael, who has a penchant for the xylophone and the printing press. Shuma's Ed is a wonderful match for Weaver's Essie, and they are delightful to watch on stage. The Sycamore family's other daughter, Alice, is portrayed by Lesley Newcome, who does a lovely job at coming across as the "normal" one of the family. She highlights Alice's exasperation with her family, which is tempered by overwhelming love, beautifully. Grandpa Martin Vanderhof, played by Mike Shevlin, rounds out the Sycamore family. Shevlin gives one of the best performances of the evening as Grandpa, with his speech to Mr. Kirby in the final act bringing the play to an inspiring and transformative climax.

Several other characters float in and out of the Sycamore house, giving the impression that life often just happens to this family with very little control. Rheba and Donald, the Sycamore family's maid and her boyfriend, are played with great comedic timing by Fran Bixby and William Donaldson. Russ Moore takes on the role of De Pinna, Paul Sycamore's assistant, playing De Pinna with an unassuming air. Boris Kolenkhov, Essie's Russian dance instructor, and Olga, the Grand Duchess, are portrayed by Rick Sollman and Deb Cornelius. Sollman's stage presence is great for the larger-than-life dance instructor, however, the accent was often too thick and muddled, making it difficult to understand his lines. Cornelius is absolutely delightful as Olga, making the audience wish she'd been in more of the show. Janelle French appears as Gay Wellington, a drunk actress who alternates between passing out on the sofa and wandering about the stage stealing fur stoles and engaging in other zany behaviors, simply adding additional chaos to the already chaotic scenes. John Fitzgerald as the IRS agent Henderson and an FBI agent, Viki Mallios as an FBI agent, and Margie Fry as a third FBI agent briefly join the fray, interrupting the everyday disorder of the Sycamore family's life to throw a new wrench into the works.

The complete opposite of the Sycamore family and their friends and acquaintances is the Kirby family. The Kirby family is comprised of Mr. Kirby (played by Dave Lang), Mrs. Kirby (played by Deborah Robertson), and their son Tony Kirby (played by Kyle Davis). Lang and Robertson interact well as Mr. and Mrs. Kirby. Their posture and demeanor emphasize the Kirby family's wealth and staid normalcy, particularly in light of the peculiarities of the Sycamore family. Davis gives a great performance as Tony Kirby, a young man who is in love with Alice and wishes his family were more carefree and warm like the Sycamore family. Davis's interactions with Newcome's Alice are endearing, and the audience cannot help but hope for a happy ending for the couple.

You Can't Take It with You is a play that reminds us not to take life too seriously. It helps us to remember what the important things are-family, friends, love, and laughter. Catch this comedy co-directed by Ben Greenberg and Ashley Shade Byerts at Carlisle today, and stay tuned for their next production-Urinetown the Musical-running June 16-25. Visit https://carlisletheatre.org/players-on-high/ for more information.

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