Will Brill as her husband seems to carry eccentric mannerisms to an extreme. Mark Lynn Baker - a wonderful clown does not have enough to do as the relatively quiet fire cracker-making husband.Īs the aspiring ballerina, Annaleigh Ashford is ditzy andlaughably uncoordinated though at times she swallows her lines. Kristine Nielsen is the flighty Penelope who seems to be channeling some of Edith Bunker’s nervous ticks. James Earl Jones is the pater familius who has led his family by example. She does a fine job walking the line between exasperation at the relatives’ antics, desperation that her lover’s family will never agree to a marriage or be able to adapt to the family, and deep love and appreciation for her family.
#George kaufman madcap comedy series
Rose Byrne, known for her film work and in the TV series Damages, makes her Broadway debut as Alice - the most “normal” member of the family. His mistake may be letting them run too wild sometimes comedy is best if the characters are more restrained. Of course, act three must involve straightening the whole mess out and allowing Alice and Tony to live “happily ever after.”ĭirector Scott Ellis has assembled a cast of comic masters to keep the pace moving and the laughs coming.
Instead of the orderly and polite dinner, the parents are exposed to the rambunctiousness and disorder of this unconventional household including some explosions in the basement. The only conventional family member is Alice who is the secretary to an important executive they are smitten with each other.Īct one introduces the characters and the complications - an IRS agent visits to inquire about the lacking tax returns - and Alice’s boyfriend, Tony comes to pick her up for a date.Īct two is a week later when Tony and his straight-laced parents show up for dinner to meet Alice’s family BUT they are a day early. A Russian ballet teacher visit frequently. Their daughter Essie is an aspiring ballerina and candy maker who also lives there with her husband Ed, who plays the xylophone and helps distribute the candy. Her husband Paul creates firecrackers in the basement with his assistant Mr.
His daughter Penelope writes dreadful plays because one day a typewriter was delivered by mistake to the house. The play takes place in the home of Martin Vanderhof, the pater familius, who decided some years ago to quit work - from the look of the house he was obviously very successful - and do only what he wanted which included keeping snakes and not paying income tax. Yes, it is silly and madcap but sometimes we need that. You might wonder if the play holds up after almost 80 years: it does. The 1936 comedy, You Can’t Take It with You won the Pulitzer Prize for drama.Īn all-star revival is gracing Broadway this fall. Kaufman and Moss Hart wrote a madcap comedy about an eccentric family that seemed to survive very nicely on whatever nest egg they had and the salary of one member of the family. In the height of the depression, George S.
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