Strike it Rich with 'Funny Money'
Matt Pranger photos
Everybody's got a lottery dream, right? Or maybe your private fantasy is to inherit a fortune from a rich uncle, or to be the inventor of the next technical revolution. We'd all like to think we'd be generous to our family, friends and community. However, many an instant millionaire has proved that money makes people do strange things, and can make the people around them even stranger.
Such a scenario plays out on the San Juan Community Theatre stage in eight performances of Ray Cooney's hilarious farce, "Funny Money." This sparkling combination of British witticism and physical comedy is directed by Andrew V. McLaglen.
"Ray Cooney is just a genius of the British sit-com," McLaglen says. "His plays are in production on the West End all the time, because he really knows how to work both the word play and the physicality of a situation. What starts out as a fairly simple situation becomes more and more convoluted, until the audience is just howling with laughter."
With eight performances to choose from, when is the best time to see the show?
"It almost doesn't matter," says cast member Bill Lembeck. "There are matinees for people who don't want to be out at night. There are discounted shows on Thursdays. Personally, I think the energy is best on Opening Night (Feb. 27). The adrenaline is pumping and everybody is on!"
Lembeck is joined on stage by Tina Grenville-Cagwin, Eric Concord, Juliette Flint, James Krall, Gary Pillette, Ernest Pugh and Ed Strum. Set design is by Tom Steers, lighting design by Keith Buscha and costumes by Kim Burns.
The SJCT Box Office is open Tues.-Sat., and one hour before the show. Call 378.3210, or tickets can be ordered through our ONLINE BOX OFFICE.