"Spreading It Around" - by Londos J. D’Arrigo - Gateway Players (Southbridge, MA.) - REVIEW
(Cover Photo: The CAST of Londos J. D’Arrigo's "SPREADING IT AROUND" from Gateway Players in Southbridge, MA. now playing through September 15, 2024. Photo Credit David Corkum)
Kevin T. Baldwin
METRMag Reviewer
# 774-242-6724
"Money is like manure. It should be spread around."
- Thornton Wilder
Gateway Players
Presents Londos J. D’Arrigo's
"SPREADING IT AROUND"
Written by Londos J. D’Arrigo
Directed by Deb Hollett and Lynn Boucher
Cast Includes: Dawn Sedlier as "Angela Drayton," Richard Clark as "Martin Wheeler," Cynthia Claudio as "Traci Drayton," Greg Glanville as "Larry Drayton," Matt Sedlier as "Dr. Krapinsky"
Additional Creative Team:
Producer - Kathi Grenier; Stage Manager - Diane Servant; Tickets - Pat Haddock, Kathi Grenier; Light and Sound Technicians - David Corkum, Ducati Sedlier; Set Construction and Painting - Cynthis Keane, Damon Caron; Costumes - CAST; Props and Set Furnishings - CAST, CREW and Friends; House Staff - Chris McTigue, Erin Morin, Gwen O'Brien, Jeanne Dupuis, Linda Bouthillier, Billy Bolster, Lou-Ellen Corkum, Deb Ostinguy.
Performances:
September 6, 2024 through September 15, 2024
(Contact Venue for Exact Dates and Times)
Performances to be held at Fellowship Hall of Elm Street Congregational Church, 61 Elm Street in Southbridge, MA. Entrance is on Park Street (around corner).
TICKETS:
Online credit card ticket sales are available at www.gatewayplayers.org
For more information call 508-764-4531 or visit www.gatewayplayers.org
COVID 19 PROTOCOLS
Contact Venue for Most Updated COVID-19 Safety Protocols and Information.
Gateway Players presents the quirky comedy, "SPREADING IT AROUND" which plays in Southbridge and brings with it a quiet but marvelous charm.
Written by Londos D’Arrigo, who was comedy writer for Phyllis Diller, Lily Tomlin and Joan Rivers, "SPREADING IT AROUND" has much of that same level of humor brought through by D'Arrigo's eccentric characters.
"SPREADING IT AROUND" made its world premiere in 2009 at Stage Door Players in Atlanta, Georgia.
The Gateway Players cast and creative team have together staged a fine adaptation of the story.
Wealthy widow Angela Drayton (Dawn Sedlier) lives in an upscale Florida retirement community.
Angela spends most of her days filled with various unremarkable routines.
Although she is a widow living alone, Angela’s neighbor, Martin (Richard Clark), feels comfortable enough to simply wander into her apartment unannounced to perform various repairs.
While in any other circumstance, a restraining order might feel warranted for the above, instead Angela freely welcomes Martin into her home and greatly values their platonic friendship.
Angela’s isolated lifestyle has left her with an inordinate amount of time on her hands and with an unenviable amount of boredom to go along with it.
Also, Angela is tired of handing out money to her unappreciative children who only contact her when they need significant amounts of money which Angela’s late husband left to her.
Similarly, Martin also is a wealthy widower who finds himself stalked by the other widows at the retirement community with little or no contact by family unless they need money.
So, after a lightbulb appears over Angela's head, together, the duo starts the “S.I.N. (Spending It Now) Foundation,” to give some of their wealth to others who are truly and more desperate in need.
This generous act of benevolence absolutely terrifies Angela’s greedy son, Larry (Greg Glanville) who is unaware of the foundation.
All he knows is his mother's bank account is losing vast amounts of his supposed inheritance and he won't stand for it.
So, together with his wasteful spendthrift wife, Traci (Cynthia Claudio), Larry flies out to “visit” Angela and to find out what is going on as they discover Angela’s estate is slowly depleting.
When the selfish pair learn of the foundation, they devise a sinister plan to become Angela’s legal guardians, seeking to have her committed, thereby allowing them to latch onto Angela’s remaining life savings.
There are a number of clichéd jokes about living in a senior living community, but rising above this is a genuine congeniality in the relationship between seniors Angela and Martin, thanks to the notable chemistry between actors Dawn Sedlier and Richard Clark.
(Photo: The CAST of Londos J. D’Arrigo's "SPREADING IT AROUND" from Gateway Players in Southbridge, MA. now playing through September 15, 2024. Photo Credit David Corkum)
The script by Londos D’Arrigo has both the limitation and the appeal of a situation comedy from the last century.
During the show’s second act, Larry and Traci initially misinterpret the intent of the foundation, especially given the acronym “S.I.N.” and its documented tagline, “Seniors Doing It Together While They Still Can.”
The above might well seem like a lift from an episode of "Three's Company."
The Gateway Players staging, co-directed by Deb Hollett and Lynn Boucher, comes with a set using white wicker furniture, thereby giving a certain “Golden Girls” vibe to the entire show.
And yet, it all works thanks to D’Arrigo’s well-constructed story and the performances by the Gateway cast.
That said, there is a drawback in the lack of dimension given to the characters of Traci and Larry, almost making them seem more like the greedy “ANNIE” siblings “Rooster” and “Mrs. Hannigan.”
They are "one-note" characters with no reason for being the way they are and with no redemption for who they are anywhere in sight.
They just are who they are, which is rotten to the core.
(Photo: Cynthia Claudio as "Traci Drayton" with Greg Glanville as "Larry Drayton," in a scene from Londos J. D’Arrigo's "SPREADING IT AROUND" from Gateway Players in Southbridge, MA. now playing through September 15, 2024. Photo Credit David Corkum)
There is also no moment where we see where Angela, as a parent, might have gone wrong to raise such a vile, irredeemable son nor why that son would find such an equally unpleasant, unrepentant partner in Traci.
This is not a flaw by either actor as both Glanville and Claudio give fine performances.
Together the couple supposedly have children which they left back at home with their high priced nanny instead of bringing them along to visit their grandmother.
This would indicate a severe disconnect all around by these self-serving miscreants, totally counter to the character of Angela but with no backstory to explain why (although Angela does try to account for it in a short monologue near the end).
A nice surprise comes during the penultimate scene of the play when enters Dr. Krapisnky (Matt Sedlier) who is hardly dressed like a psychiatrist but yields some of the show’s biggest laughs.
The doctor’s many clever quips are nicely executed by Sedlier.
(Photo: The CAST of Londos J. D’Arrigo's "SPREADING IT AROUND" from Gateway Players in Southbridge, MA. now playing through September 15, 2024. Photo Credit David Corkum)
Set transitions between scenes were quick and any required changes made in the redressing of the single set were expedited well.
As with most sitcoms, the ending of the show is lighthearted and pleasing, as is much of the show, again thanks to the relationship between the characters of Angela and Martin.
In fact, this relationship might just have many wondering "will they or won't they" but you'll have to see "SPREADING IT AROUND" to find out.
Gateway Players' "SPREADING IT AROUND" continues in Southbridge, MA. until September 15th.
For tickets and reservations, online credit card ticket sales are available at www.gatewayplayers.org. For more information call 508-764-4531 or visit www.gatewayplayers.org
Approximately two hours with one intermission.
Kevin T. Baldwin is a member of the American Theatre Critics Association (ATCA)
@MetrmagReviews
@Theatre_Critics
ABOUT THE SHOW
Angela Drayton, a wealthy widow living in an up-scale retirement community, is tired of handing out money to her unappreciative children.
So she starts the “S.I.N. (Spending It Now) Foundation,” to give to those truly in need.
This terrifies her greedy son, driving him to devise a plan to have her committed.
ABOUT GATEWAY PLAYERS THEATRE OF SOUTHBRIDGE
GATEWAY PLAYERS THEATRE, INC. is an all-volunteer community theater providing quality live theatre performances and workshops to Southbridge, Sturbridge, and Charlton, Massachusetts and surrounding areas. GATEWAY PLAYERS THEATRE, INC. started in 1975, when a group of interested community members decided that Southbridge needed a theater group to bring live productions to the area. First using local schools and borrowed rehearsal and storage space, GATEWAY then moved into its current home in 1978, when Ruth Wells (of the American Optical Company Wells family) donated her home on Main Street as a cultural center in Southbridge. GATEWAY PLAYERS THEATRE offers a full season of productions, usually performed at Elm Street Congregational Church, 61 Elm Street, Southbridge, MA. as well as workshops for youths and adults. Auditions are open to all, and new members are always welcome.
PO Box 171
Southbridge, MA 01550
# 508-764-4531
