Birthday Suite

Not only does Birthday Suite fit the classical definition of farce, but Robin Hawdon's newest play, direct from the UK and under the talented direction of Bob Christensen, is hilarious. (Hawdon's Don't Dress for Dinner was well received a few years back.)

Bob's friend has set him up in a modest hotel room with a working girl, Bambi, as a birthday present. (Had things gone as assumed, the playwright could have dropped the "e" from the title.) Meanwhile in the connecting suite, guarded only by a door, there is to be a dinner meeting with Kate and Dick, who have met through a computer-dating service. Musical hotel rooms, both with Murphy beds, couples changing partners, and the entrance of Liz, Bob's estranged wife, make for farce in its most mature form. Add quick exits and entrances by an affable Italian waiter named Tony.

Jerry Young is birthday-boy Bob, who is currently reeling from a ten-year marriage that is about to crash on the rocks of divorce. Bob is a government nebbish uncomfortable with deriving pleasure from a professional woman. Young carries off his character and the circumstances with panache. Cast as the girl-in-the-room-next-door, Kate, is Carolyn Wheat Koenig whose character meets Bob before her computer-date arrives. Koenig plays the many sides of Kate delightfully, from the shy, demure mousy girl really not comfortable with a strange man in a hotel room to a woman who becomes a bit more comfortable as the champagne flows. Her inebriation is slow and extremely convincing.

Michael C. Burgess, the only true Brit on the stage, plays Dick, a shrink who could possibly use a bit of therapy. Finally, Bob's wife Liz (Karina Montgomery) enters. Liz has been summoned to the hotel room by Bob's duplicitous friend, who had hoped to bring husband and wife together. Montgomery plays the unhappy mrs. with glee. She also has a surprise for both Bob and the audience that is totally audacious.

Finally, Charley Miller is waiter Tony. Tony is put upon from the start as musical rooms begins. He's confronted with changing partners and outrageous demands yet must always be discreet. Miller's way-over-the- top performance works perfectly. In fact, the whole cast of Birthday Suite, under Christensen's direction, create a laugh riot.

Charles Nichols' set provides connecting rooms; one dressed for dinner and the other for amour. The environment is just slightly tacky, a perfect setting for the events of the evening. Nichols created a low suggestive wall and working door-bit between the two rooms and even the hint of door areas to the hotel hall. Sharon Bowen and Chad Oakley's lighting design works well, highlighting the action in either room. Karina Montgomery's sound is unobtrusive and provides nice continuity for the action.

Teri Brown's costumes help define the characters. Both men are conservatively attired in suits. Koenig's dress is extremely modest, befitting a first meeting with a computer date, while Montgomery sports more flair and, at one point, becomes totally outlandish in her attire.

Despite a few shaky line deliveries, this show should have universal appeal. The medical world has told us repeatedly that humor is the best medicine. Assuming this is true, Birthday Suite is a perfect cure for just about any of your ills.