'See How They Run' Puts the Mad in Madcap

It’s perfectly all right if you imagine hearing a zany, madcap soundtrack during See How They Run at Camino Real Playhouse. Take it as proof you’ve preserved your faculties in the midst of this frantically fun fiasco of mistaken identities, preposterous coincidences, innuendo and “pun”tastic wordplay.

Director Stephen Gomer said the Benny Hill show theme instantly came to mind when he first read See How They Run, written in 1943 by British actor and playwright Philip King.

“I have a vivid imagination, and when I first read this, I had the music in my head,” said Gomer, who most recently directed the holiday show at the Playhouse.

The theme music, also known as Yakety Sax, plays during scene changes and intermission as a sort of homage to English comedian Hill, whose TV show has been seen in more than 140 countries. Though Hill idolized Jack Benny (going as far as to take Benny as his first name), he undoubtedly took a page from fellow countryman King’s playbook on farce. 

Traditional farce is plot-heavy, with humor created from skillfully exploited and improbable situations. King had plenty of real-life situations to draw from as a serviceman in the Royal Air Force during WWII. The plot of See How They Run bubbles with suspicion and intrigue. The dialogue rat-a-tat-tat-tats with sharp humor and plenty of one-liners that mock the mass confusion of life during wartime.

The action centers at a vicarage in the small English village of Merton during the 1948 harvest season. Scene One opens with parishioner and busybody Miss Skillon (Wendy Gallo) pitching a tantrum in the parlor. Seems Mrs. Penelope Toop (Teresa Rogers), the reverend’s wife, has decorated the pulpit for the harvest festival, a job the prideful Miss Skillon has handled for umpteen years.

The Rev. Lionel Toop (Mark Schwartz) quickly finds himself between a rock and a hard place as he tries to placate the offended Miss Skillon and reason with his wife. Penelope is an American and former stage actress with an outspoken personality and casual manner—all qualities that Miss Skillon finds deplorable in a vicar’s wife. Ruffling Miss Skillon’s feathers further is the Toops’ maid, Ida, who has a thick Cockney accent and cheeky attitude and delivers such delicious lines as “I’ll say what I have to say in the witness box.”

A sticky domestic sitcom quickly unravels further to create an evening of mishaps and misunderstandings, thanks to a chain of incredible events. The Rev. Toop is taken hostage in his own home by a Russian spy (Joe Yacoubian), who has escaped from a military air base. Mrs. Skillon accidentally gets drunk on cooking sherry and brandy before becoming locked in a closet with the Rev. Toop. 

Corp. Clive Winton (Darrell Hill) shows up at the vicarage, and it turns out he’s a fellow ex-actor. Penelope pounces on the chance opportunity to view a local production of Noël Coward's Private Lives, which they performed together in the starring roles of divorced-but-still-in-love Amanda and Elyot. But the village where the play is showing is off-limits to American soldiers. Penelope talks Clive into wearing her husband’s clergy suit so that he’s in disguise. Upon returning to the vicarage, all heck really breaks loose.

The Bishop of Lax (Wade Wooldridge), who is Penelope’s English uncle, was supposed to arrive in the morning but shows up that night. Another visiting clergyman, the Rev. Arthur Humphrey (Ruben Miranda) turns up seeking to stay overnight because the local inn is rundown and he’s scheduled to give the Sunday sermon. Local police Sgt. Towers (Jason Rimel) checks in as the manhunt for the escaped spy zeroes in on the vicarage.

The mayhem ratchets up as the characters scurry about just like, well, like "Three Blind Mice," the nursery rhyme from which King snagged his play’s title. The elegantly decorated, two-level stage set featuring various doors, windows and a flight of stairs is a character in itself. The well-crafted design allows lots of confusion and keeps the pace of the play set at full speed. It also ideally sets up the literal “running gag,” a classic comic device in which numerous players give chase. Benny Hill was a master at the genre, with nearly each of his shows ending with a hysterically funny chase scene.

Gomer tweaked King’s play to boost the slapstick quotient and create the running gag that involves cast members running or diving off the stage and reappearing from another entry, narrowly missing each other.

“Some of the cast has said that being in this play is like having a gym membership,” Gomer said. “I added a lot of extra physical comedy. You see Mrs. Skillon getting dragged around. I have several characters jumping out the window.” 

You may find yourself in the shoes of the Rev. Humphrey, who begins questioning his sanity with all the “who’s on first, what’s on second, I don’t know’s on third” whirl of events. But take heart in Mrs. Toop’s words: “I’ve played enough parts to know something always go wrong. But, darling, it’s always righted itself by the final act.”

 The production stars several Playhouse regulars:

Teresa Rogers (Penelope) most recently made a comedic turn in Death of a Salesman: The Musical, the original play that took second place in ShowOff! 2011. She was Fraulien Schneider in Cabaret.

Mark Schwartz (Lionel Toop) played El Capitan in Eureka, the third-place winner of ShowOff! 2011. He also appeared in The King and I and The Pirates of Penzance. 

Wendy Carp Gallo (Miss Skillon) took part in ShowOff! 2009 and The Uninvited on Stage II.

Wade Wooldridge (Bishop of Lax) performed in Footloose.

Darrell Hill (Clive) was in ShowOff! 2011 and Greetings.

Laura Michelle (Ida) also was seen in ShowOff! 2011.

Ruben Miranda (Rev. Humphrey) played in Comedy of Errors for the 2007 Capistrano Shakespeare Festival and is a member of the Capistrano Center for the Performing Arts board of directors.

Joe Yacoubian (intruder/spy) was in last year’s melodrama San Juan’s Dirty Laundry.

Jason Rimel (Sgt. Towers) has appeared in regional productions of The Maria Callas Story, Death of a Salesman and Antigone.

In addition to coming off Greetings, Gomer directed first-place ShowOff! 2011 winner Credit Check. He also directed last year’s Halloween show The Uninvited on Stage II and the melodrama Clementine Saves the Swallows on the main stage.

Catch See How They Run through April 24. Check showtimes and buy tickets online on Camino Real Playhouse's website. Tickets range from $22 to $34.