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Show Actors "Up A Tree" By David Fleisher The Gas Light Dinner Theater is currently showing "Up a Tree," a comedy written by Robert Nichols. It was an entertaining evening, and most of the credit should go to the actorsfor their courage. They gave probably one of the best performances that could be given, considering the circumstances. They were subjected to working with a script that is not only filled with unfunny lines, but terribly dated. The play concerns a middle-age woman, portrayed by Imogene Coca, who is transformed into a political activist and decides to run for Congress. The focus centers mostly on her campaign to get elected along with the ongoing domestic turmoil that it creates in her house. Her political awareness is prompted by an incident that involves an environmental question: Marge Howland (Coca) admanantly refuses to climb down from an old oak tree in order to pave way for new development in the town. Thus, the title, "Up a Tree." When she finally decides to run for Congress, she immediately confronts an obstacle; her husband, Herbert, played by David Murdock. He is an ultra-conservative who thinks her desire to be in Congress is absolutely ridiculous; moreover, he would rather spend a vaction in Hawaii than move to Washington D.C. The plot is tedious from the beginning because there is nothing refreshing about it. The issues dealt with spring from the 60' s or before: use of marijuana, long hair, whether women should hold jobs outside the home, etc. The writing was, to say the least, uninspired; the characters are basically stereotypes with very little depth. There were, however, a few funny scenes. And they were funny only because of able acting and well-conceived directing. In the second scene of the first act, candidate Marge Howland is interviewed for a television news broadcast by a determined reporter, extremely well played by Helen Frank Sandack. Mrs. Sandack and Imogene Coca ignited the stage with their convincing rendition of a typical reporter-candidate relationship. This was the funniest scene of the entire play; furthermore, it could have been even funnier if they had something funny to say. It was nice watching Imogene Coca after not seeing her for such a long time. For the past several years she has been touring all over the country performing in such plays as, "You Know I Can't Hear You When The Water's Running." "Send Mo No Flowers," "Plaza Suite," "The Rivals," and "The Fourposter." She has not appeared to have aged one day since her classic series on television, "Your Show of Shows." The remaining actors worked quite well together. I particularly liked Joy McConnochie as the daughter, Michael Graves as the lawyer from the American Civil Liberties Union, and Gene Pack as the opposing candidate. Mr. Pack's performance during the debate scene in the second act was very funny, indeed. Michael Heaton's imaginative directing spared us from what could have been a very long night. I would like to see the entire cast work together in another play. They deserve much better than "Up a Tree," which plays until Dec. 2. |