Fans of farce will be well served by Too Many Cooks, which opened July 12 at the Drayton Festival theatre.
The story is set in Niagara Falls during the prohibition era, with action centering around the grand opening for Irving Bubbalowe’s new restaurant. Naturally, since it’s a farce, a sudden turn of events leads to disaster when the famous chef hired as the eatery’s main attraction fails to arrive for the opening. To cover up the crisis, an unemployed cook who happens by looking for work is substituted for the master chef and, of course, chaos and confusion ensue … complete with Chicago gangsters, a hot-blooded immigration officer, an illegal shipment of booze, and a straight-laced Mountie.
Director Marcia Kash, who co-wrote the script with Doug Hughes, deftly guides a strong cast through the twists and turns of what is, in fact, a pretty clever script.
While the fast-paced show contains all the traditional comedic elements of a classic farce – mistaken identities, double entendres and plenty of swinging doors through which the large cast of characters enter and exit, compounding the confusion with every appearance – the laughs here depend more on the actions and reactions of the characters, than the typical device of having scantily-dressed ladies poured through the doors.
To be sure, there’s a bit of that, resulting in what is easily the play’s funniest line, delivered by David Silvestri as “Shirley,” a mob goon with a penchant for sarcasm, when a stuffy immigration officer played adroitly by Karen Wood loses her dress during a drunken escapade toward the end of the production.
But, for the most part, the humour stems from elements like the expert physical comedy of Drayton Entertainment favorite Keith Savage, who portray’s the hapless hotel owner Bubbalowe, who’s also forced to portray several other characters in an effort to avoid being erroneously branded as an illegal rum runner.
Darren Keay also gives a solid performance in a role that compels him to shift between characters and accents in a hilarious effort to stay a step ahead of both mobsters and Mountie, as well as the immigration agent.
Dropping a Mountie in full-dress uniform into any situation is a guaranteed laugh-getter, and David W. Keeley adeptly channels Duddly Do-Right with a straight-faced portrayal that turns wickedly comic when he stumbles into a bowl of heavily-spiked punch, and subsequently the arms of Wood’s character.
Sam Rosenthal as mob boss Alfonse “Noodles” Feghetti gives an impressive performance as a stereotypical gangster, bringing the proper amount of both menace and humour to the role, without going over the top into pure camp.
Jayme Armstrong, as the restaurateur’s daughter, provides both quick wit and quick changes as she adopts a variety of disguises in an effort to keep the charade going long enough to get through the gala opening.
Veteran performer Frank McAnulty as treasonous booze runner Mickey McAnulty steals a number of scenes in a smaller role that, at one point, has him doing an impressive turn as a cadaver.
Set designer Allan Wilbee is a hidden star of the show, creating a set that combines the necessary elegance to suggest an upscale eatery, while providing plenty of doors for the comic action to sail through.
Too Many Cooks plays until July 27. Tickets may be purchased online at www.draytonfestivaltheatre.com, in person at the Drayton Festival Theatre box office or by calling 519-638-5555 or toll free 1-855-DRAYTON (372-9866).
