Cash Has Makings of a Great Night Out
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By Erica Hansen
Deseret News
"CASH ON DELIVERY," through Feb. 14, Hale Centre Theatre, 3333 S. Decker Lake Dr. (801-984-9000); running time: 2 hours (one intermission).
WEST VALLEY CITY — Slamming doors, mistaken identities, and of course, a dead man.
All the things that make farce a farce. Especially in the British variety — such as Michael Cooney's "Cash on Delivery," now playing at Hale Centre Theatre.
Meet Eric Swan (Cody K. Carlson), an out-of-work bloke who, not wanting to tell his wife he's unemployed, has been cashing the government assistance checks sent to one of his previous renters.
Swan finds that the more he tries to get the checks cancelled, the more he "qualifies" for other types of compensation — so the money keeps rolling in.
Everything seems to be going along fine … until his case worker shows up. That is, of course, when the high jinks ensue.
HCT's production is, for the most part, pretty solid, with only a few minor missteps.
Carlson, single-cast as Swan, is so fast-talking, conniving and quick-thinking that he either goes home and immediately drops into bed every night or is so ramped up he can't sleep for hours.
e perfectly matched with Justin Bruse, who is also single cast as his dim-witted partner in crime. The two play off each other well and are a nice contract physically — which adds to the humor.
Also single-cast is Michelle Linn Hall, playing Swan's wife. She brings a nice mix of concern and exasperation to the role, although at times, her voice gets a touch too high-pitched, making it difficult to understand her words.
The rest of Friday night's cast delivered solid performances and looked like they were having a great time doing so.
As is always the case with farce, timing is everything. Once or twice, the timing of the slamming door wasn't spot-on.
That left me wondering why poor Uncle George was running back into the path of the slamming door that tagged him the first time. That could have more to do with the blocking and space, rather than the actors — but the gags don't work as well if you see them coming.
I would have liked to see Peggy Willis' costumes and Cathrine Cripps hair/wigs more clearly define the time and day. Sometimes the show looked "present day," sometimes it looked like the '80s and one wig had me thinking it was the '40s.
HCT's arena stage doesn't always lend itself to the gags. Many are hidden depending on where you sit. But director Leslie Warwood does a fine job of keeping the action moving, thereby minimizing too many obstructions.
And that's all pretty minor in a show that requires so much focus. If farce if your cup of tea, then HCT's "Cash on Delivery" has all the makings of great night out.
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