See See How They Run!

Yep, not a typo - I want to be sure that you go see See How They Run at the Renaissance Theatre in Lynchburg! I saw it on Saturday evening and had a rollicking good time!

You know how you go see some shows or movies and they are "chuckling" funny. You see the jokes coming from miles away and although you chuckle and smile...you don't get those crazy uncontrolled outbursts of laughter. I was hoping for laughter like when my Dad watches the boat scene from Weekend at Bernie's. You know, when Bernie falls out of the boat and keeps hitting the buoys? And although the guys hear the bells ring when he hits one - he must hit a half dozen or more before they haul his dead body back onto the boat. When Dad watches that scene he laughs until he cries. The first time we saw it I think he laughed until he couldn't breathe properly.

THAT is the kind of laughter that I was craving. Recently I have seen amusing movies (like Identity Thief) and cute shows (like Suessical the Musical) but nothing like the entertaining farce See How They Run.

Not the Renaissance production,
but you get the idea!!

I don't want to give too much of the plot away...the play is set in an English vicarage (that's the place where a vicar lives) and the key players are the vicar, his flamboyant wife, their cockney maid and a very stuffy old biddy from the parish. To tell you much more about the cast, I might give away the plot points that lead to a parade of vicars running through the vicarage (one of them in his underclothes!).

I was not familiar with most of the cast - but I was so excited to see my good friend Shelbie Filson playing the role of "old biddy" Miss Skillon. Shelbie is always talented, but this was a riot. Her facial expressions from the beginning of the show when she is sternly disapproving of "that woman" decorating the pulpit (which she has ALWAYS done!) until the very end of the show when ... oh, that's right. No spoilers. But watch that woman...she cracks me up.

The great thing about seeing a show at the Renaissance is that the setting is very intimate. The theatre seats about 100 people and I enjoyed a front row seat. At times I could have reached out and touched one of the performers. I understand they frown on that...so I didn't. But I could hear every word of dialogue perfectly and felt like the show was unfolding just for me. It is a great experience.

I think I'm going to one more show this week (trying to, anyway) - E.C. Glass is staging Picasso at the Lapin Agile in the Alumni Theatre. Small theatre, so tickets will go quickly. It's a cool show where Einstein meets Picasso in a bar and they drink absinthe. If memory serves, Elvis shows up too. Or that could be the absinthe talking.



Get out and see live theatre - with three colleges, two high schools and a couple regional theatres - opportunities abound!