Reviewed by Judy Richter
Revisiting the Vanderhof
household is like getting together with old friends after years apart and
finding them just as delightful as ever. That's what happens in Palo Alto
Players'
production of the Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman chestnut, "You Can't Take
It With You."
It
opened on Broadway in December 1936 and went on to win the Pulitzer Prize for
drama. And even though that was 76 years ago, the warm comedy's basic
philosophy still rings true: Good health, happiness and family are more
important than fame or fortune even in the midst of the Depression.
Hence
we meet an engagingly innocent New York City family whose genial patriarch,
Grandpa Vanderhof (Tom Caldecott) quit his office job some 29 years ago and never looked
back. His daughter, Penny Sycamore (Debi Durst), has been blithely trying to
write plays for eight years, ever since a typewriter was mistakenly delivered
to the house. Her husband, Paul (John Watson), plays with an Erector Set and
manufactures fireworks in the basement.
One
of their daughters, Essie Carmichael (Kim Saunders, the show's choreographer), has
been studying ballet for eight years without much success. Her husband, Ed (Keith
Sullivan), plays
the xylophone, delivers candy that he and Essie make, and prints just about
anything from tonight's dinner menu (almost always corn flakes and tomatoes) to
communist slogans.
The
Sycamores' other daughter, Alice (Lorie Goulart), is the only seemingly normal
family member. She is secretary in a Wall Street firm where she has become
romantically involved with its vice president, Tony Kirby (Adam Cotugno), the boss's son.
Another
member of the household is Mr. De Pinna (Ronald Feichtmeir), who showed up a few years ago,
stayed for dinner and never left. He's Paul's partner in fireworks-making. The
family's cook, Rheba (Rene M. Banks), also lives there. She's frequently joined by her
boyfriend, Donald (Max Williams). Another frequent visitor is Essie's ballet teacher,
Boris Kolenkhov (Brandon Silberstein), a fiery Russian who fled his country after the
revolution.
Everyone
gets along famously and has a lot of fun until one night when Tony, by now
engaged to Alice, and his parents (Beverly Griffith and Ron Talbot), show up for dinner on the
wrong night.
Mix
in a drunken actress, Gay Wellington (Diane Tasca), brought home by Penny, and an
imperious Russian duchess, Olga Katrina (Celia Maurice), a friend of Kolenkhov and now
a waitress, and the differences between the two families become starkly clear.
And then there are the federal agents (Clint Andrew Hall and Evan Michael Schumacher) who show up with their own
agenda. Thus, Alice breaks the engagement, much to the consternation of
everyone except the elder Kirbys.
As
directed by Cornelia Burdick Thompson, it's all a lot of fun, but it also brings home its
message about the importance of doing something you love even if you don't get
rich. Running about two hours and 10 minutes with two 10-minute intermissions,
the show starts slowly but soon picks up, delivering one laugh after another.
Patrick
Klein's
two-level living room set, lit by Rick Amerson, is appropriately cluttered with
items reflecting the family's varied interests. Before the show and between
acts, George Mauro's
sound design features popular songs and snatches of radio programs from the
'30s. The period costumes are by Mary Cravens, but Rheba's outfits seem too
dressy for a cook.
Overall,
this production serves the classic comedy well as Palo Alto Players continues
its 82nd season.