Stage hijinks for Caviar Players

As the week winds down, the Caviar Players prepare to don their deerstalker hat and whip out a magnifying glass.

The Morinville dinner theatre troupe sets in motion Play On!, a comedic romp by the late American playwright Rick Abbott that runs this Saturday at Morinville Parish Hall.

Set in the present, this play within a play portrays a local community troupe of actors staging a murder mystery that takes place during the Edwardian era. In the murder mystery, dubbed Murder Most Foul, Lord Dudley has acquired the Delhi Diamond, a fabulous gem set in a necklace that is cursed.

But all is not straightforward. It’s three days before opening night and the playwright madly keeps rewriting the script. The actors are squabbling, props are fouled up and the tech goes awry.

The snafus and bloopers continue from rehearsal into opening night, and how the actors survive is the main thrust of the comedic engine. “It’s hilarious. It’s really fun — all the antics that go on with the cast,” says director Dave Sutherland (Arrivals and Departures/Aspirins and Elephants).

He adds that the play’s spirit is drawn from life imitating art imitating life. “It shows real people at work from a play perspective. It’s real people trying to put on a show for real people and you can see yourself in those people.”

A cast of 10 actors, most playing double roles, propels the action. Some of the colourful characters include Phyllis (Amber Lehay), the naïve novice playwright that is completely oblivious to how her repeated script changes frustrate the actors. There’s Aggie, the straight-shooting stage manager, who wanders in from backstage to report the latest tech slip-up.

And true to every comedy, there’s a love triangle between Saul (Carol Czarnecki), Violet (Kori-Lynn Hudson) and Billy (Landan Hughes).

David Haas, an oral storyteller for The Alberta League Encouraging Storytelling, wraps himself in the characters of Lord Dudley/Henry while Claudette deBruijn as his wife Lady Margaret/Polly returns for a second season.

The entire production is a fundraiser whereby proceeds will be split jointly between the Morinville Rovers, an 18-plus scouting group, and Caviar.

As Sutherland explains, last year Caviar went into the red relocating their props, costumes and sets to a new storage facility. “And our trailer was on its last legs and we had to get a new one.”

“The real charm of this play is people who like doing it. We like to come out in our spare time and do it for a good cause. We like to serve and give back. That’s the heart that gives us the push.”