By Marilyn Jozwik
Ray Cooney’s “Run for Your Wife,” Sunset Playhouse’s 2021-22 opener, is a laugh fest from start to finish. A Thursday night audience was thoroughly entertained by the non-stop humor and wit, Cooney’s trademark.
A veteran cast, seasoned in comedy, keeps pace with the numerous laugh lines, sight gags and quick deliveries. Brian Zelinski directs.
The comedy comes from the implausible story of John Smith (Phil Stepanski), a cab driver in 1968 London area who finds himself in quite a dilemma – he has two wives, each unaware of the other. He manages two households on a very tight schedule, claiming he works a different shift to each wife.
The whole scheme unravels when Smith, trying to protect an old woman from two thieves, receives a blow to the head (“from an “old bag” – the woman’s purse!) and finds himself in the hospital and late to arrive at each of his homes. In a daze, he gives both his addresses to hospital staff, which sets off a series of madcap events involving two detectives (Corey Klein and Hal Erickson), two wives (Tanya Tranberg and Allison Chicorel) and two neighbors (Josh Scheibe and Jim Mallmann).
Cooney’s play, which premiered in 1983, looks a little worn with its stay-at-home wives and heavy reliance on gay jokes. Nonetheless, the hapless Smith is a lightning rod of laughter as he tells tale after tale to keep his dual life intact.
Stepanski’s Smith is a loveable teddy bear – you can see why two women wanted to marry him. He is a like a carnival performer who keeps a row of plates twirling on poles as he races among them, tugging at the poles, to keep the plates from falling. Stepanski’s Smith becomes increasingly unhinged as he tries to manage several cockamamie stories, which means hurrying to his two homes to keep his secret lifestyle intact. Stepanski is the perfect person for the role with his expressive visage and penchant for physical humor.
John Smith (Phil Stepanski) and his wife, Barbara (Tanya Tranberg), are captured by a newspaper photographer (Jim Mallmann) in a scene from Sunset Playhouse’s “Run For Your Wife.”
As Mary and Barbara, Smith’s two wives, Tranberg and Chicorel are wonderful, having to dial through a range of emotions including concern, confusion and finally indignance, plus displaying some marvelous comic timing.
The cast of Sunset Playhouse’s “Run For Your Wife” features, from left, Corey Klein, Jim Mallmann, Hal Erickson, Phil Stepanski, Allison Chicorel, Josh Scheibe and Tanya Tranberg.
Perhaps the most animated performance is Scheibe’s as Smith’s unemployed, unkempt neighbor Stanley. Scheibe is a scene stealer as John Smith’s accomplice in the cover-up, cranking out a steady stream of ridiculous excuses. Scheibe is central in my favorite scene in which Stanley pretends to be John Smith to Detective Porterhouse (Erickson) and Smith’s wife Mary (Tranberg) in a hilarious, fast-paced exchange.
Erickson’s Detective Porterhouse is a delight to watch as he cluelessly laps up all the ruses with an easygoing way. Klein is matter-of-fact as Detective Troughton, a nice contrast to the chaos around him.
Mallmann, as Bobby Franklyn, the Smith’s foppish neighbor, periodically pops in on the confusion with good-natured obtuseness, adding another layer to the riotous romp.
While the British accents were all over the map, they were sufficient to set the scene and didn’t distract from the comedy. A hard-working set held up well to the abuse, while the color-scheme and prop placement made it easy to distinguish the two separate homes. Well done!
If you go
Who: Sunset Playhouse
What: “Run for Your Wife”
When: Through Sept. 26
Where: 700 Wall St., Elm Grove
Info/Tickets: 262-782-4430; SunsetPlayhouse.com