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Entertainment

Love, Sex, IRS updates '30s comedy

The play takes the elements of You Can't Take It With You and spices them up for modern times.

By BARBARA L. FREDRICKSEN
Published January 16, 2005

To borrow a phrase from baseball great Yogi Berra, watching You Can't Take It With You at Stage West Community Playhouse on Thursday and Love, Sex and the IRS at Richey Suncoast Theatre on Friday, was sort of "deja vu all over again."

Both shows have irate IRS collection agents; both have humorously drunken mature women falling face down on sofas; both have unexpected visitors at inconvenient times; both have seemingly doomed romances.

But what the heck. Didn't I write in the Stage West review on Saturday that the show was worth seeing and seeing again? Only I didn't think I'd be seeing it as two different plays at two different theaters.

But there are enough differences and enough good performances to make both shows worth seeing and, if you're a rabid fan of farce, both worth seeing again.

Unlike the 1930s comedy You Can't Take It With You, Love, Sex and the IRS. is set in more modern times, with modern sensibilities and conventions. This means naughtier jokes and racier double entendres, though things such as cohabitation and sex outside marriage are still verboten.

In it, struggling musicians Jon Trachman (Derek Wallen) and Leslie Arthur (Drew Lundquist) have shared an apartment and expenses for several years. Unbeknownst to Leslie, Jon has been taking advantage of Leslie's double-gendered name and claiming Leslie as a tax deductible wife.

Unbeknownst to Jon, Leslie has been edging toward an affair with Jon's fiancee Kate (Susan Nichols).

It all comes to a boil when IRS agent Spinner (George Lynch) shows up at the door, and Jon persuades Leslie to dress up like a woman to fool him. The nosy landlord, Mr. Jansen (Nick Lisandro) is most suspicious and keeps coming in and out at unexpected times to check things out.

As with a good joke, this set-up comes quickly in the 30-minute first act and the payoff comes with tons of fun in the 50-minutes second act when Jon's mom (Anne Lakey) shows up unexpectedly, as does Leslie's soon-to-be-ex-girlfriend, Connie (Leanne Germann) and a subway bum named Grunion (Joe Connolly).

The show is fast-paced and short (one hour, 40 minutes), but that gives plenty of time for this talented cast to earn the laughs under the guiding hand of director Charlie Skelton.

At last, after years of fine turns in supporting roles (Benny Southstreet in Guys and Dolls, a Protean in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Fatty Arbuckle in Mack & Mabel; Rooster in Annie; Court Jester in Once Upon a Mattress), Lundquist gets the lead and he makes the most of it.

Lundquist is a big, strapping fellow with a shaved head and a deep voice, which makes him the most hilarious cross-dresser since the father-in-law character in Woody Allen's comedy, Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Sex But Were Afraid to Ask.

When Jon tries to teach the burly, masculine Leslie how to cross his legs and mince like a lady, it's as rollicking as the scene in La Cage aux Folles when the gay nightclub owner tries to teach his lover how to walk like John Wayne. Lundquist's Leslie just can't manage the dainty look and instinctively plops down with his hands propped on his widespread knees like some tobacco-chawing catcher in a baseball dugout.

The supporting players add to the fun. Ms. Nichols' Kate is a true flirt, her short, split skirt and big, round eyes emphasizing her sex appeal. Ms. Lakey's Mom Trachman is a show highlight as she swills the booze and takes a pratfall. Lisandro's Mr. Jansen steals his scenes as the fast-talking landlord.

The dependable Lynch is a hoot as the sex-starved, hard-drinking IRS agent; Ms. German is a saucy Connie; and after a slow start, Wallen shines as the double-crossing, double-crossed Jon.

The new light and sound system, manned by 13-year-old Jami Walls, and an appropriately tacky apartment set by Skelton and crew, round out an overall enjoyable night at the theater.

Love, Sex and the IRS., weekends through Jan. 30 at Richey Suncoast Theatre, 6237 Grand Blvd., New Port Richey. Shows are at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 2:30 p.m. Sundays. Tickets are $15. Box office is open 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays and an hour before each show. Call (727) 842-6777.

[Last modified January 16, 2005, 00:33:22]