Since its inception a few years ago, The Company Theatre has more than proven it’s a fixture in the local arts scene. With a robust season each year and a new-ish home at the ornate Temple Theater near the Liberty Pole downtown, the company is presenting myriad offerings for a wide audience.
The holiday production is George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart’s classic comedy of errors, “The Man Who Came to Dinner,” which runs through December 17. Clocking in at a little over three hours with two intermissions, this isn’t the wham-bam one act fare so prevalent on stage today.
And while the length may seem daunting, it’s a fast-paced, witty romp with the masterful Christopher C. Conway in the starring role of Sheridan Whiteside, a 1930s radio celebrity who slipped and fell at the home of an Ohio family during a tour of the United States. It’s almost Christmas, which means the now wheelchair-ridden star will spend his holiday at the mercy of middle America. Or is it the other way around?
Conway’s impeccable comedic timing and sardonic tone lead a delightful cast of characters, including the sassy-yet-sophisticated Kit Prelewitz as his secretary Maggie Cutler. Throughout the show’s three acts, others parade through with caricatures and laughs, notably Marianna Tonas as the nervous Nurse Preen, Ron Dufort as the blustering patriarch Ernest W. Stanley, and David Byrne as the clingy Dr. Bradley.
Director Philip Detrick balances chaotic scenes with excellent casting to create particularly entertaining moments from Kathryn Borden as the ethereal, unnerving Harriet Stanley; Scott Shriner as the mischievous charmer Beverly Carlton; Ben Gillooly as the scheming, gregarious Bert Jefferson; Sammi Cohen as melodramatic starlet Lorraine Sheldon; Brian Tan as the whirlwind problem solver Banjo; and David Munnell (with a fantastic accent) as the eccentric Professor Metz.
The show has a beautiful period set designed by Jared Lee Morgan and built on the already grand stage of the Temple Theater. Special attention to detail includes a window that looks outside to a bare tree — at one point, soft snowflakes fall around the branches. Costume design by Kendall Del Buono, especially for Cohen’s Hollywood character, is full of lush period pieces (though Banjo’s jacket and tie give a little David S. Pumpkins-turned-Christmas).
The chemistry Conway manages to build with each character and his surroundings, while managing most of the lines in the script and an impressive high society accent, is ultimately what ties “The Man Who Came to Dinner” together. Three hours quickly slips into a charming, nostalgic holiday night out at the theater.
The show runs through December 17. For tickets and more info, visit thecompanytheatreroc.org.
Leah Stacy is the editor of CITY. Feedback about this article can be directed to leah@rochester-citynews.com.
This article appears in Dec 1-31, 2023.
