“Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary, over a many a quaint and curious…” scene from Richmond Hill Players current production of playwright Don Zolidis’ (zoh-LIHD-is) The Tell-Tale Farce, a script set in 1848 shortly after the publication of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven.” Making her directorial debut with this production is Elizabeth Shaffer. In her program notes she states that although “…Poe makes an appearance and the word “Nevermore” is thrown around a lot, that’s where similarities end…and the…”play is a farce…filled with slamming doors, mistaken identities, fake mustaches, over-the-top characters and lots of witty jokes.”
My weak and weary pondering was over why this offering failed to tickle my – emphasis on “my” – funny bone. A Google search on the playwright provided some insight.
Zolidis, a former middle school and high school theatre teacher, is the very prolific author of two novels and over 120 plays for…teenagers. He is the most produced playwright in American schools; his plays have been staged in every state in the nation and in 68 countries. So, his work is directed toward children – granted, older children, but children nonetheless. However, in a YouTube video Zolidis posits that the audience comes to the theatre to use their imagination and that a playwright’s best resource is neither the words nor the actors, but the imagination of the audience. So, while the dialogue is unauthentic for the era and the plot is ludicrous it does elicit chuckles along the way due largely to the imaginations of the audience, confirming the playwright’s philosophy.
The plot revolves around Edgar Allan Poe’s mailman who masquerades as the famous poet in order to win over his fiancée’s, Sarah, aunt and secure approval to marry because Sarah is in an arranged engagement to Rufus Griswold. In the meantime, Sarah’s cousin, Abigail, falls head-over-heals in love with the pretender and throws over HER affianced, Henry Whitford. Weaving in and out of all the deception is the bawdy machinations of the butler and parlor maid, Brinsley and Mary. Then the authentic Poe appears and everything unravels.
All this being said, the cast jumps into their roles with the bravado of paratroopers and clearly enjoyed all the hanky-panky. The matriarch of the group is Elizabeth Hulsbrink as Helena Dowling, as the pseudo-Poe character is the imposing Eric Landuyt. His saucy fiancée and Helena’s niece, Sarah Dowling, is the ubiquitous Dana Skiles; as Sarah’s cousin and Helena’s granddaughter-in-heat, Abigail, is Shyan De Voss, Griswold and Whitford are portrayed by Eric Friedman and Jacob Lund, Brinsley and Mary are David Shaffer and Cali Van Zandt and wrapping up the cast as the real Poe is Derek Bolme.
Personally, this was not my favorite script but it is well presented. So, if you’re looking for silly entertainment that doesn’t require much effort on your part – this show is for you.
The Tell-Tale Farce continues at Richmond Hill Players Barn Theatre in Geneseo, Thursday through Saturday, April 10 through 12 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, April 13 at 3:00 p.m.
I’m Chris Hicks…break a leg.