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Entertainment

Actor not shaken up; stirred to ad-lib instead

By BARBARA L. FREDRICKSEN
Published February 19, 2005

Give actor Lori Hawbecker the "Grace Under Pressure" Award this year.

Ms. Hawbecker plays Ruth Condomine in the current production of Blithe Spirit at the Tarpon Springs Performing Arts Center (8 tonight; 2 p.m. Sunday).

On opening night nine days ago, the curtain dramatically swept open to reveal an elegant 1930s English country house parlor and an equally elegant Ms. Hawbecker standing stage left. Moments later, the maid (whose name shall mercifully remain unpublished here for reasons that will become clear) came into the room carrying a tray of crystal martini glasses - and immediately spilled two of them.

They shattered, sending shards and curls of sparkling glass across the hard stage floor.

I think if I had been in Ms. Hawbecker's shoes, I would have thrown the nearby tablecloth over my head and fled the stage.

Instead, Ms. Hawbecker paused a split second, then, cool as a lightly-shaken martini, waved an imperious hand and ordered the maid to fetch a broom and dustpan and sweep up the mess. Then walking regally toward the poor performer, who surely by this time was thinking about using a glass curl to slit her own wrists, Ms. Hawbecker smiled and asked the maid to bring two fresh martini glasses and, like the composed mistress of any fine English estate, off-handedly cautioned her not to be in such a hurry.

The martini glasses, by the way, were crucial props, as most of the ensuing dialogue was based on the contents, quantity and sharing of the drinks.

Despite the opening night-opening curtain disaster, the players carried off their parts gracefully, and the show went on with surprising smoothness.

In fact, during the intermission, there was a great deal of conjecture among the audience members as to whether the broken glasses were an accident or just part of the show.

Incidentally, this Noel Coward comedy is thoroughly enjoyable and very well performed.

Speaking of accolades, one should go to Amiee Turner, the director of The Will Rogers Follies that winds up Sunday at the Show Palace Dinner Theatre, for the show's superb curtain calls.

Theaters tend to treat curtain calls in two ways: either as continuations of the show that go on and on and on, or as rather embarrassing afterthoughts where the players' eyes dart around as they curtsy or wave. Worst are those where the curtain closes, the applause dies down, the patrons sit silently in the dark for 30 seconds, only to have the actors dribble back on stage to tepid and tentative clapping.

And there was that one most unsatisfying incident a couple of years back, where a really fine production ended, there was sustained applause, but the curtain stayed shut, the house lights went up, and the audience never got the chance to let the performers know how much they enjoyed the show.

Will Rogers, by contrast, was the perfect curtain call: timely, appreciative, and, as someone once said of women's skirts, long enough to cover the subject and short enough to be interesting.

It should be filmed and shown to theater groups as the "good example" curtain call.

Speaking of curtain calls, Pasco County's own Darlene Cahill survived the sixth round of the Saturday night television reality show Wickedly Perfect and will be back tonight for a seventh round.

After a rocky start in the first couple of episodes, she has become a favorite with her fellow players and with those who vote online. Following episode 5, she came out tops in "who will win?," second in "who is the best party host?" and fourth out of seven in "who should go next?"

The competition is thinning. The strongest contender was voted off in the third episode; three of Darlene's tormentors were voted off in episodes one, three and five; and the audience favorite was voted off in episode six last Saturday. Darlene is by far the most interesting, charming and appealing of the six contestants left.

The concern now is, will she be voted off by the others for those very reasons?

[Last modified February 19, 2005, 00:57:17]