Reviewed by Susanna Wu-Pong
There are amusing plays. There are funny plays. And then there are plays where you belly laugh through the evening.
See How They Run, directed by Tom Width and running at the picturesque Swift Creek Mill Playhouse, is just that kind of play. This audience pleaser provides light-hearted fun for all age groups. It’s perfect for a date night or a fun outing with your tweens and teens. See How They Run is a farcical comedy about a modern American actress who marries into the stoic and conservative world of the British clergy. Traditional and contemporary values and social norms clash, tumble, and swirl in an amalgam of confused roles, mistaken identities, misunderstandings, alcohol fogs, brain injury fogs, thrills, and spills. What emerges from this bizarre emulsion is a sight to behold.
The talented and energetic cast deliver a solid performance across the board. Several characters evolve during the play from one extreme to the next. Andrew Hamm as Reverend Toop and Jacqueline Jones as Miss Skillon start as quintessential, proper, lip-pursing, flummoxed Brits. Jesse Mattes as Clive Winton and Louise Keeton as Penelope Toop shine as the carefree and cool Americans. All eventually morph into their wild and crazy alter-egos in this zany tale of clashing cultures and mishaps.
Jacob Lief plays the thundering Bishop of Lax who adds fire into the crazy concoction and Adam Mincks is the sergeant that must make sense of the mess. Steve King portrays a believable and likable Reverend Humphre and Jim Morgan admirably depicts the not-quite-right-in-the-head intruder. Liz Ballard Hamm is hilarious as the sassy Cockney maid, Ida.
See How They Run provides a fun-filled evening for anyone and everyone, including twelve and up. You’ll leave with a laugh in your belly and a smile on your face.
See How They Run is showing at Swift Creek Mill Theatre through October 25, Thursday through Saturday evenings and select matinee dates. For tickets and showtimes, go here: See How They Run or call 804-748-5203.
