The Keegan Theatre’s UNNECESSARY FARCE is the comedy we all need in these troubling times. Written by Paul Slade Smith and adroitly directed by Ray Ficca, this D.C. premiere will make you really, truly, laugh.
Noah Schaefer as cop Eric opens the show with skillful physical comedy. Eric and Billie (Jenna Lawrence), two inexperienced cops, are tasked with manning the video-camera and exposing the mayor’s illicit activities. Schaefer and Lawrence’s rapport is one of FARCE’s great successes. … Mario Baldessari as the mild-mannered Mayor Meekly is the definition of a scene stealer. He frequently walks in on various combinations of characters in all manner of compromising situations. Baldessari’s obvious glee is infectious, and his punchy one-liners will leave you wishing he had more stage time.
The audience on Tuesday night was eager to laugh, and thanked the actors for the evening with a standing ovation. As I walked home on an unseasonably warm night in DC I realized how much I needed to laugh at something straightforward and uncomplicated. Much theatre in DC this year has taken aim at the nation’s political climate and the systemic inequalities engendered by decades of racism and sexism. While I relish the opportunity to take a good hard look at my complicity and engage with powerful works of protest, there is also a time and place for escapist theatre. If you need a good laugh, I can’t recommend Keegan Theatre’s UNNECESSARY FARCE highly enough.
