A Bad Year for Tomatoes

It’s nice to end the year with some fun, and there are lots of laughs in this almost-farcical comedy set in a country town west of Hollywood around the 1970s. However, it hasn’t been all that much fun in the two weeks leading up to opening night! Annette van Roden, who plays the leading role of Myra Marlowe, broke her arm, necessitating quite a few changes for both the cast and the backstage crew – as Myra has many costume changes, runs up and down stairs several times, and is involved in a little bit of a scuffle with one of the male actors. Not easy when your favoured arm is in plaster from the wrist to above the elbow!

But van Roden is a seasoned trouper and director Meredith Jacobs is seldom phased by setbacks! Scenes were re-blocked where necessary, the stage crew were co-opted as dressers – and with as little stress as possible, and full marks to the commitment of community theatre stalwarts, the show has gone on!

Myra Marlowe is a famed character actress who has taken time out to write her autobiography … and grow tomatoes. She has chosen Beaver Haven because it is a small town – and just to ensure she is not recognised, she has gone back to her real name, which is one of the first word ‘gags’ of the play. Her plans go painfully awry when the local community busybodies come visiting – constantly. And, her quickly devised idea to keep them at bay goes equally awry, as one would expect in any farce!

Annette van Roden gives a confident, skillful performance as Myra, making the broken arm part of the performance, yet not allowing it to mar any of the energy required of the character. She gives Myra the elegance and guile of the successful actress yet mixes with it the naivety of the city woman in the face of small town curiosity and meddling. Her Myra is charming and flirtatious – and quite ingenious!

Ben Freeman plays her agent, Tom Lamont. Sporting the very open neck shirt and leather jacket of the times, he listens, almost patiently, as Myra explains why she is in Beaver Haven, but it’s obvious he’d prefer her to be back in Hollywood earning him some commission – and that he’d really like to be a little more than her agent.

As he leaves, the locals begin to arrive. Cora Glump, played by Mary Clarke, is a nosy gossip who fancies a drink. Her partner in the ‘hospitality’ committee is Reba Harper, played by Annette Snars. Reba is a little more refined than Cora, but equally nosey. Together Clarke and Snars push the parody of these comical caricatures, and in doing so instigate some of the complications with which Myra must deal.

Another complication is Willa Mae Wilcox, local clairvoyant-cum-soothsayer-cum-meddler. This role is a gift for an actor who can exaggerate without going too far over the top, and Sandy Velini always does this very well. In knee length stockings and mismatched clothes and hats and boots, she struts and tut-tuts and completely captures the extravagances of the character.

So too does Jason Spindlow, who is perhaps the comic glue that binds the production. He plays Piney, the local woodchopper and manure supplier. This character too could be over-the-top, but, with Jacob’s tight direction and his own immaculate timing and facial expressions, Spindlow makes the character scarily funny and increasingly endearing, especially in the final scenes, where Larry Murphy joins the cast for a brief appearance as the very confused town sheriff.

As usual, Jacobs’ set is designed by the elusive Trevor Chaise and provides the perfect background. Yellows and browns and timber predominate and the lighting (Sean Churchward), original music (Joshua McNulty) and sound design (Bernard Teuben) accentuate the atmosphere and humour of the situation.

This is an uncomplicated little piece to end a relatively brave and eclectic 2015 season at the Pavilion – and, with the additional pace that inevitably comes once the run has begun, it’s sure to be an audience pleaser.

Carol Wimmer

Photographer: Chris Lundie.