ANNA MARIA – Community theater lovers have until Sunday, Jan. 26 to enjoy The Island Players’ comical performance of “Birthday Suite.”
Island Players veteran Heiko Knipfelberg directs the slapstick British farce written by English playwright Robin Hawdon. The play is rarely performed in America.
The cast features Daniel Coppinger as Tony the Italian waiter, Eric Johnson as Bob, Pamela Hopkins as Kate, Jeff McMahon as Dick and Sylvia Marnie as Liz. Marnie hails from Lancaster, England and naturally speaks with a British accent. Her fellow cast members had to adopt English or Italian accents for their roles.
Marnie is also the Island Players’ executive director. She selected “Birthday Suite” because her sister saw it performed in England three years ago and loved it. She reached out to Hawdon and his agent directly to secure the rarely issued American rights to perform the play.
Before the Jan. 10 performance began, Knipfelberg stepped to the front of the stage to welcome the theater patrons, share a few thoughts on the upcoming performance and to thank the play’s co-producers, Ginny’s and Jane E’s Café.
The two-act tale unfolds in an English hotel, in a two-room suite with adjoining rooms and a door between them that’s assumed to be locked. One by one, the four main characters arrive at their respective rooms, escorted by Tony, whose frequent intrusions help propel the chaos and absurdity that ensues.
First to arrive is Bob, a nervous, neurotic and quite tall civil servant who on his birthday seeks a “naughty night out” as a reprieve from his failing marriage.
Next to arrive is Kate, a cautious, conventional and lonely boutique clerk in search of a meaningful relationship.
Third to arrive is Dick, a divorced psychiatrist who’s more adept at dispensing relationship advice than navigating his own romantic endeavors. His idea of a perfect date is a quiet dinner in a non-public setting.
The final guest to arrive is Liz, an attractive and assertive English housewife whose marriage is on the rocks.
Two of the guests find themselves at the hotel thanks to the matchmaking efforts of Bob’s never-seen friend, Geoff Tippet. The other two are making their first foray into online dating.
Hovering over the forlorn quartet and their increasingly flummoxed waiter is the mystery of Mimi, the no-show prostitute whose unknown whereabouts contribute to the confusion and hilarity – with Liz and Kate both mistaken as fellow members of Mimi’s erotic profession.
Although their accents are different, Coppinger’s energetic portrayal of Tony is reminiscent of John Banner’s classic portrayal of Sgt. Hans Georg Shultz, the endearing and bumbling German prison camp guard from the old “Hogan’s Heroes” sitcom. And as he tries to figure who’s with who and where they are at any given moment, Tony’s rapid-fire dialogue harkens back to Abbott and Costello’s classic “Who’s on First” sketch.
Fueled by British humor, champagne, liquor, melon, filet mignon, loneliness, uncertainty, apprehension, sexual tension and a quest for companionship, the four main characters, their waiter and some unexpected interlopers embark on a farcical evening that leads to a comedic climax.
“Birthday Suite” delivers a five-star evening of community theater and the Anna Maria Island community is fortunate to have such a talented cast and crew lend their time and talents to the Island Players 76th season – and they should be applauded, literally and figuratively, for their efforts and excellence.
Up next for the Island Players is “Death by Design,” a murder mystery/comedy that opens on March 13 and runs through March 30.
The Island Players theater is located at 10009 Gulf Drive in Anna Maria. “Birthday Suite” tickets are $18-$28. During theatrical runs, the box office is open Monday-Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and before each show. The box office phone number is 941-778-5755. Tickets can also be purchased at the Island Players website.
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