DIS for upload

DISCOVER! | JULY 16, 2016
Pieces | 21
KATE HARLOW | STAFF WRITER
All in the family
“You Can’t Take It With You” on stage at OST
Family. They somehow have the
ability to serve a dual purpose in
our lives.
We love them. But sometimes, they
drive us absolutely bonkers.
That’s exactly the dynamic that is
being explored in this week’s show at
Okoboji Summer Theatre. “You Can’t
Take It With You” by George Kaufman
and Moss Hart debuted on Tuesday,
July 12 and will run through Sunday,
July 17.
It’s a comedy that first premiered on
Broadway in 1936 and won the Pulitzer
Prize for Drama in 1937.
The play follows the admittedly
colorful and more than a little offbeat
Vanderhof-Sycamore-Carmichael
clan.
The large family is bursting at the
seams with bright, vivid and unapologetically
eccentric characters.
The patriarch of the clan is Grandpa
Vanderhof, played by OST veteran and
fan favorite Rob Doyen. Grandpa is
committed to doing what makes him
happy and that includes taking care of
his pet snakes, going to commencement
speeches and laughing at those
around him who take life a bit too
seriously.
In addition to Grandpa, we have his
daughter Penelope, played by Emmi
Lintner, who is an avid playwright
who doesn’t ever seem to get around
to finishing many of her plays.
Her husband, Paul, played by Jon
Martin, makes fireworks down the
basement alongside Mr. De Pinna,
who came to deliver milk eight years
ago and never left.
Throw in a candy maker who is
constantly practicing her ballet by
pirouetting around the living room,
a Russian expat ballet instructor and
a few more oddballs and the show is
ripe for laughs.
Just watching these kooky characters
would be enough to keep an audience
entertained, but what’s a play
without some extra drama? To top
that, what’s a family without some
extra drama?
Madison Welch plays Alice, one of
the more ‘normal’ members of the
family. Alice has fallen in love with
Tony, played by Dalton Mobley. And
they want to get married.
Alice has the classic problem. She
loves her family, but she’s not so sure
her husband and her future in-laws
will.
Bringing the two families together
sets the scene and lights the match to
explode some fireworks, literally and
figuratively.
The show is intelligent and so is
the humor. Lines come fast and from
many different voices as the show features
most of the characters onstage
all together.
I commend the actors for convincingly
creating the atmosphere of controlled
chaos on stage.
I won’t spoil the plot, but I will say
that I was touched by this weird but
likable family. In fact, I won’t name
names, but it sort of reminded me of a
few select members of my own family.
Family, you gotta love ‘em. F
Okoboji | Iowa
At a Glance:
WHAT: “You Can’t Take it With You”
WHERE: Okoboji Summer Theatre,
Hwy. 71, Okoboji, IA
WHEN: July 12-17
COST: Tickets are $18 for nonmusicals
and $20 for musicals
CONTACT: 712-332-7773
ONLINE: www.facebook.com/okobojisummertheatre
Cast:
Penelope Sycamore: Emmi Lintner
Essie Carmichael: Emily Bricker
Rheba: Madeline Campbell
Paul Sycamore: Jon Martin
Mr. De Pinna: Brett Olson
Ed Carmichael: Courtney Crouse
Donald: Cooper Slater
Martin Vanderhof: Rob Doyen
Alice Sycamore: Madison Welch
Wilbur C. Henderson: Austin Taylor
Smith
Tony Kirby: Dalton Mobley
Boris Kolenkhov: Michael Rapport
Gay Wellington: Katherine More
Mr. Anthony Kirby: Kip Niven
Mrs. Kirby (Miriam): Talia McCall
Olga Katrina: Taneal Williams
The G-Man: Brandon Mayville
Mac: Josh Hiser
Jim: Zach Burks
First Nighters:
Bryn Johnson, of Laurens,
IA, was the winner of the this
week’s First Nighter Giveaway.
She received two tickets to
the opening night of the show
as well as a number of other
prizes. She brought her brother,
Connor, to the show.
“It’s so funny. Everyone has
a weird family so I feel like the
show is really relatable.”
- Bryn Johnson