The Off Broadway Palm Theatre is serving up some laughs in the musical comedy "Half Baked" by SWFL Playwright Joe Simonelli and Lori Jean Sigrist. The comedy is billed as a farce, but it's not quite farcical enough for my taste. It is cute and certainly contains overall silliness, which I guess allows it to be considered a farce.
The show is pleasant due to its star-studded cast of well-known seasoned actors, including Michael Weaver as Sonny Allen and his wife Veronica, played brilliantly by Shannon Connolly. The couple, along with Martha Allen, played by the loveable Donna Schulte, and Jay Allen, played by Actor Patrick Treadway, retire in Florida, and the family opens a small cafe.
The restaurant business, however, isn't so profitable. The retired Allen brothers devise a plan to lace their potstickers with actual pot and hope that the appetizers will cause patrons to get the munchies and order even more food, and drive business.
Their plan works, and customers love the potstickers. Although they recognize a familiar taste, they can't quite describe it, so they believe it's oregano.
Actress Rachel Lord is another favorite who plays the peculiar Nadia, a Latvian loan shark. Lord is a great character actress, and I loved her foreign accent.
Act 1 of the show ends with the audience believing that the ever-squabbling and miserable Jay and Martha are killed off as they're mysteriously missing.
It isn't until Act 2 that the audience discovers what really happened to them. There are a lot of twists and horseplay, but not a lot of physical comedy, which often defines a good farce. The show doesn't move all that fast, but it does have some great laugh lines. It was a nearly sold-out performance Saturday night, and the audience gave eager applause at the end of the performance.
The set is quaint and takes place in a small Florida diner.
The show is a recipe for an enjoyable evening, especially since the actors make the best of what they have been given to work with, and it may just leave you craving some potstickers.
"Half Baked" runs through May 24, and tickets can be purchased online at BroadwayPalm.com or you can call the Box Office at (239)278-4422.
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