Cliff Miller, Teddy Spencer and Tiffany Hobbs star in the “You Never Can Tell” in Meadows through Feb. 27. (Courtesy of Meadows)
A Meadows main stage show rarely feels collegiate. When you bring in talented theater professionals, in addition to an auspicious faculty to work on a show featuring stage-savvy students the three elements amalgamate into a successful show.
“You Never Can Tell” is one such production. The elements of this show blend together so well, that it is difficult to imagine George Bernard Shaw’s 1897 comedy produced any other way.
Set on the English seaside, “You Never Can Tell” is the story of Mrs. Clandon (Jamie Rezanour) and her children, Gloria (Tiffany Hobbs), Dolly (Katherine Bourne) and Phillip (Donny Repsher), as they return to England after an 18-year stay in Madeira.
The play opens on Dolly in the chair of Dr. Valentine’s dentist office. The loquacious pair of Dolly and Phillip coerce Valentine (Cliff Miller) into attending lunch with their family, despite the fact that they are fatherless – a social faux pas.
He brings his landlord Mr. Fergus Crampton (David Price) along to lunch, who happens to be the husband whose flaws Mrs. Clandon eloquently recites to her children. Along the way, Valentine has fallen head-over-heels for Gloria, who is a modern woman just like her mother, and though at first she rejects his advances as sentimental nonsense, by the end of the play she finds herself subjected to the power of love.
Thanks to an affable waiter (Teddy Spencer), an old family friend Mr. Finch McComas (David Gorena) and a mysterious lawyer Mr. Walter Bohun (Beethoven Oden) the plot unfolds in an uproarious, yet touching way that inspires the waiter’s comment – “You never can tell.”
This four-act play is always a crowd-pleaser and this production is served well by Patrick Kelly’s direction that gives the show a quick-paced rhythm that is handled smoothly by the young cast, perhaps as a result of Sara Romersberger’s movement and choreography coaching.
The delightful interplay between characters takes place on a set that easily transitions from a dentist’s office to the terrace of the Marine Hotel to a parlor at the same location. John Arnone’s design with the sunny sky backdrop, a wrought-iron gazebo and elegant furnishings capture the mood of the play as well as the setting.
And the acting is superb. From the minute that the lights come up in Act 1, Bourne’s ability to capture the childish frivolity of Dolly and Miller’s frustrated, yet hopeful Valentine bring an immediate energy to the stage that draws the audience in.
This energy booms when Repsher and Bourne are on stage together and is tempered by the steadiness of Rezanour and Hobbs. And Price proves once again that he is a versatile actor as he might be the first undergraduate student I’ve ever seen play a convincing 57 year old.
Spencer’s waiter is the perfect counterpoint to the insanity of the Clandon/Crampton family, as he doles out stories and advice.
The overall quality of this production is reason enough to see it – it’s fun, it’s aesthetically-pleasing and it’s close to home.
“You Never Can Tell” run through Feb. 27 in the Greer Garson Theatre in Meadows School of the Arts. Tickets are $7 for students, $13 for general admission.
Performances are at 8 p.m. Feb. 24, 25, 26 and 2 p.m. Feb. 26, 27.
