From Deseret News archives:
'Lucky Stiff' alive with lots of laughs
OREM — You might think playing a dead guy in a play would be easy. No lines. No choreography or fancy dance steps to learn.
But Eldon B. Randall does such a good job in Hale Center Theater's "Lucky Stiff" it's apparent that it takes a good amount of talent — not to mention willpower.
A person who is playing dead can't breathe so anyone notices, can't grin or change facial expression in anyway and has to be ready to flop over, dangle in the wind or wave in the water at a moment's notice.
Randall does all of this very well. He's amazingly fascinating to watch as he's wheeled from scene to scene in a show that revolves around a dead man's last wishes.
Harry Witherspoon, a mild-mannered, rather bland sort of fellow, stands to inherit a fortune from his deceased uncle if he takes the corpse along with him for a dream vacation.
Witherspoon, played by Dave Tinney, is not used to taking risks. He's more at home selling shoes and staying home on a Friday night, but he takes on the job of earning his $6 million rather than letting it "go to the dogs."
Meanwhile Annabel Glick, played masterfully by Meghan Stettler, is determined to outwit Witherspoon's efforts and get the money for the dog shelter where she works.
(It's fairly obvious where their rivalry is headed, but there's no harm done because it's played well.)
Add in a gold-digger girlfriend who shot her boyfriend/Witherspoon's uncle, Breanne Folkman in the Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday cast, and a good number of characters who fill in the blanks — ladies on the train who flirt with the dead man, the maid, the nightclub disc jockey, a leper, a dancing roulette wheel and a seriously stressed optometrist (Christian Busath) — and you have some fun.
The whole show is run at a deadly quick pace with songs and non-stop lyrics that are hilarious.
Meanwhile, the costuming is colorful and interesting, especially the optometrist's outfit when he finally blows a cork.
The set is intriguing because it is so simple and versatile with one central set of shoe boxes becoming a bed, a desk, a piano, a wall eye chart and a seat on the train. Dead-man outlines in chalk dress up the black walls.
The music is easy to listen to. The vocals, especially Folkman's and Busath's, are great.
(If nothing else, it's worth the ticket price just to see Busath's big scene toward the end.)
All in all, this is a play that's different, enjoyable and plain, doggone fun!
E-mail: haddoc@desnews.com
