Theatre Review - Hay Fever

Hay Fever

written by Noël Coward

directed by John Going

When: Saturday, April 18, 2pm

Where: Thompson Theatre at the Roselle Center for the Performing Arts (University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware)

Type: Play, Comedy, Professional Theatre

Bear with me here...since I don't see much theatre, these theatre reviews are much tougher to write...

University of Delaware's professional acting troupe concludes their first season with British playwright Noël Coward's comedy Hay Fever -- a tale of the eccentric Bliss family who welcomes four guests to their country home for the weekend.

The problem with comedies (whether as a movie or as a play) is that sometimes it's difficult to differentiate where the fault lies if there's a lack of comedy -- Is it the actors or the script? And that's kind of how I felt with this one. There was definitely humor (oops, sorry, this is British...humour) and I certainly laughed quite a bit (especially after the first 20 minutes), but, in the end, the play's not really about a darn thing. Which is fine. It's a comedy. But in the grand scheme of things, looking back on it, there really wasn't much that happened in the 140-minute run time.

For the most part, the troupe of actors was quite good. Kathleen Tague as the matriarch, Judith, was certainly the star. Sure, she was over-the-top, but as a retired actress, it was a perfect fit. By the time Act II started, I was eagerly awaiting her scenes. Similarly, Mic Matarrese's portrayal of Richard, an initially uppity diplomatic houseguest, makes the absolute most of a smaller role. Some of his line readings were laugh-out-loud funny. Another amusing turn came from Sara Valentine's Jackie, an uncomfortably shy, unintelligent "flapper-ish" girl, who had the ability to make me laugh without saying a word.

The set and costumes were great. While I've only seen one Broadway "play," I'd think that this little troupe could certainly rival what you'd see in NYC in terms of set design. I'm actually quite amazed at this theater group's ability to produce such elaborate scenery and garb...I'm sure they plop down quite a bit of money in these areas of the production.

While I didn't love the play, it's tough to complain for $14 worth of live theater (and it's especially worth it when you think that seeing a 3D movie at the movie theater is $14). The group certainly puts a lot of effort into this and there are definitely some winning performances and nice little touches (don't get up and go to the bathroom during the two intermissions...their way of changing scenery in between acts was very, very clever and a perfect fit). I'm definitely hooked on UD's Resident Ensemble Players...it is certainly a cheap way to open up my mind to theatrical productions that I would've never even thought of going to see.