The Perry High School Drama Department will stage the Broadway comedy classic, “The Man Who Came to Dinner,” at the Perry Performing Arts Center Friday and Saturday nights at 7 p.m.
The three-act comedy of manners was written in 1939 by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart, the same playwrights behind last spring’s PHS production, “You Can’t Take it with You.”
Like the spring production, “The Man Who Came to Dinner” has a large cast and a quick pace, with sophisticated puns and literary allusions strewn like pearls throughout the play.
If the dress rehearsal was any indication, PHS Drama Coach Jami Blum has brought the cast to a state of peak performance, and the production promises to satisfy.
According to the playbill synopsis, the action takes place in a small town in Ohio. “Sheridan Whiteside, the famously outlandish New York City radio wit, having dined at the home of the Stanleys, slips on their doorstep, breaking his hip.
“A tumultuous six weeks of confinement follow. The Stanley living room is monopolized by the irascible invalid. Ex-convicts are invited to meals, and transatlantic calls bring a $784 phone bill.
“The arrival of strange gifts from his friends further destroys domestic tranquility. It would take a stoical housewife to harbor penguins in her library, an octopus in her cellar and 10,000 cockroaches in her kitchen.
“When Maggie, Whiteside’s secretary, falls in love with the reporter, Bert Jefferson, Whiteside summons a glamorous actress, Lorraine, to win the affections of the young man. Knowing the girl’s charms, Maggie enlists the aid of a clever impersonator who, affecting the voice of Lord Bottomley, whom the actress hopes to marry, asks her by phone to return to him and be married.
“The ruse almost works, but Whiteside, becoming suspicious, finds that no calls have come through from London. In revenge, Lorraine suggests a three-week rewrite on a play of Bert’s in which she feigns great interest. Lake Placid is to furnish the quiet for his inspiration, and she is to be his collaborator.
“The unexpected arrival of a mummy case, just as the relenting Whiteside is frantically seeking to get rid of Lorraine, furnishes a malicious idea. Tricking her into stepping into the case, he shuts the lid and blackmails his host into having the case carried to the airport, preparatory to a round-the-world cruise.
“Whiteside departs from the Stanley’s home triumphantly, but a second later a crash is heard—he has again slipped and fallen!”
Admission is $5. The Performing Arts Center is handicapped accessible.
The complete cast includes:
Sheridan Whiteside: Dax Kresse
Maggie Cutler: Karley Whelchel
Mr. Stanley: Halmar Arteaga
Mrs. Stanley: Sarah Sweet
Richard Stanley: Malachi Meri
June Stanley: Fallon Heater
Harriet Stanley: Allie Hopkins
Miss Preen: Kaylynn Bousman
John: Camden Studer
Sarah: Madison Mason
Miss Dexter/Choir Singer: Avery Miner
Mrs. McCutcheon/Choir Singer: Trinity Summerson
Dr. Bradley: Eoin Davis
Bert Jefferson: Zach Mills
Professor Martinez/Mr. Westcott: Andy Chic
Lorraine Sheldon: Amani Al-Rashid
Mr. Baker/Sandy/Deputy: Jesus Rodriguez
Beverly Carlton: Keegan Eastman
Banjo: John Borjas
Michaelson/Choir Singer/Delivery Person: Zoe Meyer
Henderson/Radio Technician: Adriana Escalante
Convict/Choir Singer: Cinthia Naranjo
Choir Singer/Detective: Kayla McFarland
Choir Singer/Delivery Person: Alex Tasler
Delivery Man/Deputy: Jason Wells
Radio Technician: Brooklin Griffis
Crew members include stage managers Austin Soll and Brianna Fields, assistant stage managers Aliece Fox and Bailey Piper, light managers Devon Archer and Grant Eklund, sound managers Jacob Murillo and Jairo Murillo and other crew members: Iris Diaz, Elizabeth Cornejo, Kevin VanDorn, Genesis Garnett, Breanna Penenger, Maura Richardson, Dominic Hopkins, Alexa Zarate, Karen Amaya, Sophie Prombo and Fatima Rodriguez.
