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‘Seasons Greetings’ @ Georgia Ensemble
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
THEATER REVIEW. Grade: B +
Georgia Ensemble Theatre serves up a confectionary trifle with its production of Alan Ayckbourn’s farce “Season’s Greetings.” Like the English yuletide dessert of custard, sponge cake and jam, the British comedy is light, sweet and amusing. There’s not a lot of substance to it but just enough to satisfy.
London-born playwright Ayckbourn has enjoyed a long, prolific career gently satirizing domestic situations and social class. “Season’s Greetings” is no different.
Although it’s not clear how they’re connected, a clan of relations has gathered at the home of successful, upper-middle-class Neville (Mark Pitt) and Belinda (Dori Garziano) on Christmas Eve. Among the houseguests are Pattie (Megan Hayes) and Eddie (Scott Warren), a young, financially strapped couple expecting a baby; Bernard (Bill Murphey) and Phyllis (Shelly McCook), a dotty older couple barely tolerated by the others; Harvey (Peter Thomasson), an elderly blowhard set to go off any minute; and Rachel (Kristi Casey), Belinda’s brooding sister.
It’s only a matter of time before a stranger enters to stir things up. In this case, it’s Rachel’s colleague and secret crush, Clive (Chris Ensweiler), a handsome charmer who’s been invited to the festivities. As happens when extended families are thrown together over the holidays, tensions build, but they really amp up when Clive and Belinda fall in lust at first sight.
Directed by Shannon Eubanks, the production suffers from an early sluggish pace that threatens to sap the fun out of the action. But there are enough delightful moments along the way to hold interest until the explosive end of the first act. The cast is slam-dunk solid, making it difficult to single out any one performance. McCook makes the most of her small role, eliciting laughs by merely tottering across the stage. Murphey manages to convey both pomposity and pathos. Thomasson is equal parts funny and frightening.
And that’s what makes “Season’s Greetings” work. Not just the outstanding cast, but the way it illuminates the contradictions and inconsistencies of human nature. Neville might ignore his wife, but let someone interfere with their marital complacency and they’ll live to regret it. Rachel puts on a big show of hard edges and self-sufficiency, but beneath it she’s an insecure, lovesick girl.
While those revelations strike a chord, they are suitably fleeting —- this is a farce, after all. It’s all about the laugh. And isn’t that what we really want this time of year —- a light little trifle to pass the time and cheer us up? Otherwise, fruitcake would be all the rage.
THE 411: 7:30 tonight; 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday; 2:30 p.m. Sunday. $23-$33. Georgia Ensemble Theatre, Roswell Cultural Arts Center, 950 Forrest St., Roswell. 770-641-1260, www.get.org.
BOTTOM LINE: A light and amusing comedy that satirizes family togetherness over the holidays.
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