POWAY, California — There is something that always delights me about seeing a play within a play. And Inspecting Carol reaffirmed this in spades! This comedy, written in 1991 by Daniel Sullivan, reveals the chaos that befalls a regional theatre company as they try to maintain their endowment from the NEA. Without that funding, the company and the troupe’s founder, Zorah (Cindy Shea) are facing dissolution. Worse, the founding members will be on the hook to repay the debts.
In order to save the company, a fundraiser is planned. As tradition dictates for the holiday season, Dickens’ A Christmas Carol will bring the coffers. And yet, what ensues is anything but traditional. Thanks to quirky cast members and numerous rewrites and an ever changing script, the show within the show becomes something of a free for all, with various cast members hijacking the lines and imbuing them with political-economic and cultural diatribes (not to mention a monologue en espanol).
Zorah (Shea), her accountant, Kevin (Bart Schilawski) and stage manager, M.J. McMann (Amy Dell), are aware of the dire financial straits and the imminent and critical visit of an inspector from the National Endowment of the Arts. To this end, they try to make it through even one rehearsal with a cast of oddball actors. The silliness kicks into a higher gear because these three have no idea who the NEA inspector will be.
Standouts for this show include Brian P. Evans as Larry Vauxhall, a divorced, socially-conscious child of the ’60s. His obvious mastery of Shakespeare, and Spanish, make his character brilliant, eccentric and oppositional. Zorah has proudly increased her multicultural cast by adding the newest cast member, Walter E. Parsons (Gerren Hall), an African American man to portray the ghosts. His obvious fear of the props and the strange smelling shroud create some memorable and hilarious moments. William Rickman delivered Bob Cratchit, struggling to hoist Tiny Tim and unable to mask his envy of Wayne Wellacres (Steven Jensen). Teresa Snell who played Dorothy Tree-Hapgood gave us a delightful character, who, when told to lose the British accent, made an exaggerated attempt to sound American. A few actors, new to PowPac, but not necessarily new to theatre included M.G. Perez who served as Dorothy’s husband. Ashley Arnold, new to this stage, inhabited the role of Bart. The youngest member of the cast, but quite talented and with an impressively long CV, was Dash Parker Guttiere (Luther Beatty aka Tiny Tim). Finally, the performance I attended, boasted understudy Jennifer Guttiere as Betty Andrews, the inspector sent by the National Endowment of Arts. Her facial expressions were priceless! Yes, if you’re paying close attention, each actor stood out! It was a truly synergistic cast and the overall effect was delightful.
I think of PowPac as “the little theatre that could.” This tiny company, all volunteer, takes on courageous shows, and never fails to deliver an excellent, professional product. I am beyond impressed and pleased that PowPac and its production team of Director Deb Zimmer, and Producers Darrell Datte and Anna Peterson are committed to bringing such excellent theatre to Poway and East County.
Inspecting Carol will run through December 10, 2023. Tickets may be purchased by phone at 858.679.8085, online at http://powpac.org/, or by email at boxoffice@powpac.org.
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Eva Trieger is a freelance writer specializing in the arts. She may be contacted via eva.trieger@sdjewishworld.com