Recommended *** As I entered the Oil Lamp Theater in Glenview tonight I was reminded that the English Farce that I was about to see would bring back memories of the Shady Lane Farm Playhouse in Marengo. This was what they did- farces such as “Up In Mabel’s Room”, “Critics Choice” and “Getting Gertie’s Garter”. Two hours of merriment extraordinaire that went well with a drink or two. Oil Lamp is one of my favorite “store-front” venues. Located right in “downtown” Glenview, it is in reality two stores, one the “lobby/bar” and the other the actual theater. A very intimate setting with 60 patrons the audience maximum.
Over their years, I have watched them pull off some rousing comedies and as difficult as some of these farces are, they have been able to do them. This one is not one of the better shows to start with, but under the direction of Keith Gerth, he manages to pull it off in spite of the stage being far to small for the number of people needed to put on this show.
What we are viewing is a play within a play. There are three acts ( they are not long, but between each ten minutes of intermission, for a beverage or snack which is easy at Oil Lamp ( they offer BYO on wine, soft drinks, candy and nuts and hold your hats, cookies as part of the ticket purchase) and the total running time from start to curtain is a brisk 2 hours (TOTAL). 
Act One is a rehearsal, four days before opening night! The characters are sort of off script and we get a little insight into the director, Gerry ( well -played by Whitney Minarik) and her stage manager, Aggie ( a delightful Sarah Myers) as they work with their crew member Louise ( Jolie LeBell). The actors are the “leading Man, Billy ( deftly handled by Josh Marshall) and the lovely Miss Violet ( played to perfection by Katie O’Neill), who is betrothed to the scientist played by Saul Watson ( Travis Monroe Neese, who has a flair for farce that truly shows up in the final act). In fact, the third act, which is the actual running of the play is by far the best part of the show, and yes, it needs the other two acts to make it as funny as it is!
The other characters in the play are: the master of the house, played by Henry Benish ( who is in reality played by Rob Weinstein) and his wife, Polly ( a solid performance by Suzy Krueckeberg) , the maid,played by the stage-struck Smitty Smith ( the adorable Emrose Seidenberg) and the last of the players, Phyllis Montague, the playwright of the murder mystery ( played to absolute perfection by Nicki Howard.
In this play, everything that can go wrong in presenting the play, does go wrong. In Act Two, the dress rehearsal, it almost appears that the show will close before it opens. The playwright keeps changing the script, which everyone has still not memorized, but in the rip- roaring third act where all Hell breaks loose, we find ourselves truly laughing out loud ( even the quiet laughers erupted) and all leave the theater with a smile on their face. The biggest problem with this show is that the smaller stage makes it more difficult to pull off some of the funny bits, but Gerth and his crew do a solid job. The set is well done and the lighting (Dave Miller) and fight choreography ( Victor Bayona ) great.
While playwright Rick Abbot does a splendid job, the other farce in the the Chicago area, that also deals with the behind the scenes ( literally) “Noises Off” is probably five steps ahead of “Play On!”. Both are fun, and if you enjoy a good farce, you might want to see both- Windy City Playhouse has just extended the run of theirs.
“Play On!” will continue thru May 5th with performances as follows:
Thursdays 8 p.m.
Fridays 8 p.m.
Saturdays 3 and 8 p.m.
Sundays 3 p.m.
Tickets range from $25- $40 and can be purchased by calling 847-834-0738 or visiting www.oillamptheater.org
The theater is located at 1723 West Glenview Road ( just West of Waukegan Rd ( Route 43) with plenty of street parking as well as a lot just west of the theater entrance.
To see what others are saying, visit www.theatreinchicago.com, go to Review Round-Up and click at “”Play On!”.
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