“Funny Business” Review

By Sylvia Young, Staff Writer

“Funny Business” is a show that is split into six short plays of about 15-20 minutes each. Upcoming performances are on May 5 and 6 at 7 p.m. at the Liggett Theater. The show is entertaining and showcases the skills of SDA student actors, but was sometimes hard to follow.

The first play is “The Actor’s Nightmare,” by Christopher Durang, in which George (junior Riley Switzler) is an actor who has to perform in a play that he doesn’t remember rehearsing. He struggles to guess the correct lines, often failing miserably. It was entertaining, but I found the plot difficult to follow.

The second play is “Captive Audience,” by David Ives. In the play, a couple (junior Emily Einspar and sophomore Wyatt Clay) is watching a television that appears to be alive and is attempting to control its viewers. This play wasn’t as comedic and instead focused on more the effects of modern media.

The third play is “Roll Over, Beethoven” by David Ives. In this short play, a student named Robin (junior Madison Noyes) visits the house of Dr. Goldenbaum (senior Joshua Matuszeski), a seemingly crazy, half-deaf, conductor and piano teacher. It was entertaining, but sometimes too repetitive.

After a brief intermission, the show returned to the fourth play, my personal favorite, “Wanda’s Visit,” by Christopher Durang. Jim (junior Keaton Boddicker) and his wife Marsha (junior Angelique Velasco) are visited by Jim’s high school girlfriend, Wanda (sophomore Rachel Fay Kanevsky). Wanda is clingy, offensive, and overly open. She overwhelms Jim and Marsha with her personal issues and they regret inviting her over.

The fifth play, “DMV Tyrant,” by Christopher Durang, is focused on a customer (junior Rachel Gonzalez) talking to a DMV employee (senior Savannah Casey) about an issue with her license. Like most visits to the DMV, it is frustrating, aggressive, and the problem is left unresolved.

The sixth and final play is “Soap Opera,” by David Ives. In this pun-filled show, the repairman (junior Riley Switzler) tries to choose between his human girlfriend Mabel (senior Nat Cornacchione), and his Maypole washing machine (senior Shea Fairbanks-Galaudet). This show had a lot of cheesy jokes and wordplay and was one of the funnier of the six.

Some of the plays were difficult to follow due to their short length and somewhat convoluted and fantastical plots. Although these comedies had some more serious undertones, they were difficult to fully grasp as they quickly passed.

However, the student actors did a great job of creating interesting and well-developed characters. Some students even played roles in multiple short plays and were able to create distinct personalities for their different characters.

Overall, the six one-act shows were very entertaining and well-done. A set of short plays was a different and unusual format that allowed actors to play varying roles and show off their skills. Tickets to Funny Business are available online at www.seatyourself.biz/sandieguito.