Screwball Comedy at Theatre 40 at The Reuben Cordova Theatre

Screwball Comedy

Theatre 40 at The Reuben Cordova Theatre
241 Moreno Drive Beverly Hills

Our story: The year is 1938, and newly laid-off perfumier, Mary Hayes is trying to break into the male dominated world of newspaper journalism. Editor-In-Chief Bosco Godfrey sets a competition between his egotistical star reporter Jeff Kincaid and plucky Mary assigning them to cover a society wedding. If Jeff writes the better story, he gets to keep his job. If Mary wins, she will replace the ace newshound. Super-rich lady Delores suspects that her son Chauncey's fiancée Gloria is a fortune hunter and wants the reporters to expose her. Chauncey is not the brightest bulb in the chandelier, and Delores suspects he's being played for a patsy. Can Jeff or Mary dig up the dirt?

Thru - Aug 19, 2018

Price: $35

Show Type: Comedy

Box Office: 310-364-0535

www.Theatre40.org

Screwball Comedy Reviews

Average Rating based on 7 reviews

Highly Recommended
Recommended
Somewhat Recommended
Not Recommended

Los Angeles Times - Recommended

"...Believed to be one of Canada's most-produced playwrights, Norm Foster has written dozens of plays over more than three decades. "Screwball Comedy," now in its U.S. premiere at Theatre 40 in Beverly Hills, is Foster's broadly comedic hommage to the Hollywood genre."

Read Full Review

- F. Kathleen Foley

LA Daily News - Somewhat Recommended

"...Indeed, even among those doing a good job, they are flying solo - there is no sense of directorial coordination of the humor. On the other hand, the set by Jeff G. Rack uses the stage space remarkably well. The costuming by Michele Young misses at important moments, especially in over-dowdying Whitney's character, though it generally seems to be roughly in that early 40s period. Brandon Baruch does a fine job with the lighting, absolutely necessary when you place different rooms on different parts of the set."

Read Full Review

- Frances Baum Nicholson

Broadway World - Recommended

"...Perhaps audience members who fondly remember spending their early years in darkened movie theaters watching this genre's leading actors, including Claudette Colbert, Carole Lombard, Katharine Hepburn, Barbara Stanwyck, Irene Dunne, Cary Grant, Fred McMurray, Gary Cooper or Clark Gable, will find the slower pace and loud volume utilized by most actors throughout the production much more to their liking than younger audiences who may find the subject matter and style much too out-of-date. Either way, this comedy will keep you laughing at the silliness of it all from start to finish."

Read Full Review

- Shari Barrett

Stage Scene LA - Highly Recommended

"...If Ben Hecht‎ and ‎Charles MacArthur (The Front Page, Twentieth Century) were alive today, they might have written Screwball Comedy, a Norm Foster/Theatre 40 gem that more than does justice to the genre whose name it bears."

Read Full Review

- Steven Stanley

Will Call - Highly Recommended

"...Highly acclaimed Director Howard Storm, gets to work with a game cast that has a grasp of this type of humor and Theatre 40's resident designer, Jeff G. Rack has created a set worthy of his reputation with the help of Brandon Baruch on lights and Sloe Slawinski on sound. A good way to cheer up any summer night."

Read Full Review

- Ingrid Wilmot

Stage Raw - Highly Recommended

"...Screwball comedy was a product of its time and is difficult to recreate in the current culture, but this delicious production definitely delivers the goods."

Read Full Review

- Iris Mann

Accessibly Live Off-Line - Recommended

"...SCREWBALL COMEDY's title says it all! It's the type of comedies that they just don't make anymore. There are many reasons for that, but that doesn't mean they still can't create ‘em! The 1930's may be long gone, but they aren't forgotten! The style of comedy depicted is unique. It's also very breezy where its happy conclusion is light, likable, and gay! (The 1930's definition of "gay", that is!)"

Read Full Review

- Rich Borowy