By Alayna Een
The Covey Center for the Arts in Provo, Utah, is a favorite of Front Row Reviewers, and their current run of Ken Ludwig’s Moon Over Buffalo is sure to delight theater lovers everywhere. This hilarious play follows the lives of the would-be stars George and Charlotte Hay, who are floundering—both in their theater company and in their marriage. Suddenly, they are offered the chance of a lifetime: the opportunity to perform for Frank Capra and be considered for leads in his upcoming blockbuster. But the timing couldn’t be worse! Their daughter, Rosalind, comes to introduce her new fiancé, the Hays can’t decide which play they’re putting on, a misinterpreted threat leaves Rosalind’s eager-to-please fiancé a little tied up, and no one can find George. Moon Over Buffalo is a story of missteps and second chances, drunken shenanigans and happy reconciliations that proves what I’ve always suspected about drama: it happens on both sides of the curtain.
Margo Watson is a delightful Charlotte Hay, and she clearly has her own star power to lend to the role. Whether she’s sword fighting (directed by Adam Argyle), schmoozing, or smoothing over tension in her sing-songy way, she is completely captivating. Matthieu C. Kohl makes her inferior half, George Hay, larger than life in his energetic performance. And while he well portrays the long-nosed and inebriated fool, he also masters the touching, sincere moments of apology and regret. Together, they form a fun, problematic couple that you can’t help but root for. Karen Baird’s Ethel, the couple’s elderly mother, is a force to be reckoned with, whose honest and blunt interactions with family members are a bedrock foundation for comedy.
The youngest Hays is at first determined to break free from her family’s theatrics, but it isn’t long before Rosalind (Alice Ellsworth) reprises her old roles—including the romantic ones. Ellsworth plays really well into the comedy element with her expressive mannerisms, but her dedication to her family adds heart to the performance. Tanner Frederiksen plays Paul, the company’s underpaid and overanxious stage manager, and brilliantly mines the character’s nervous energy and deprecating humor for comedic effect. The two former exes play excellently against each other in both their standoffish and romantic scenes.
While the three remaining characters all play the role of rejected lover in the various Hay affairs, their performances could not be more different. Doug Kaufman plays Rosalind’s fiancé, Howard, and he is all smiles and misplaced enthusiasm. While this kind of character can often seem ingenuine, Kaufman’s performance is guileless and irreproachable. Bethany Baird portrays the pouty—and pregnant—Eileen, who had a fling with George. Dressed in baby-doll pink and white (costumes by Skye Cummins), she plays up the innocent, naïve, and wronged lover. Charlotte’s would-be lover is the wealthy Richard, played by Howard Fullmer. Fullmer is completely convincing in his character’s single-minded admiration of Charlotte and is a good stand-in for the audience in some of the most outlandish scenes.
One of the most fun scenes to watch is the play-within-a-play, which is the catastrophic culmination of all the characters’ missteps. The success of the scene is a credit both to the actors and to director Ben Cummins. Spencer Powell’s lighting design and the set crew’s ingenuity make for a quick and convincing switch between back- and center stage. The show ends with all wrongs righted and hope for a bright future—and who doesn’t love a happy ending?
The Covey Center’s Moon Over Buffalo is a comedy made for theater lovers that you’re sure to enjoy! Please be aware that there is a short scene that includes the use of a stage firearm. Also note that themes of infidelity and multiple instances of adult humor make this play best suited for a teen/adult audience.
A review by Front Row Reviewers.
The Covey Center for the Arts presents Moon Over Buffalo by Ken Ludwig.
The Covey Center for the Arts, 425 W Center St, Provo, UT 84601
April 13 to May 5, 2023, 7:30 PM
Tickets: $18-20
Covey Center for the Arts Website
Covey Center for the Arts Facebook Page
Moon Over Buffalo Facebook Event
Graphic by Emily Zaugg
0 Comments