Review: YOU TAKE THE CAKE at Kechi Playhouse

Kechi Playhouse’s current revival of a Misty Maynard play is a family friendly comic romp. You Take The Cake, set in 1925 when times were tough but dreams still existed, promises an evening of nostalgia and delivers.

The play opens with two bank robbers hiding out in an abandoned bakery to elude the local constabulary, Officer Rube Carlton (Nataniel Schmucker). Clell (Andrew Johnson) and Lou (Matt Neises) are a pair of former WWI soldiers trying to get money to save Lou from the clutches of crime kingpin King DeGroot (Mike Shryock) and his henchman, McGee (Sam Schwartz). However, due to Lou’s ineptness as a robber, they must strike a bargain with DeGroot to run the bakery in order to pay back what Lou owes. Neither is a trained baker, but luckily for them a young woman with exceptional skills (Amanda Dahna as Effie Mae) just happens upon the bakery and saves the day. Sort of. What follows is a farcical plot showing how our heroes work their way to freedom.

The actors on opening night were still working out the kinks of their performances which will be taken care of  rapidly due to their desire to entertain their audiences. Amanda Dahna is a delight. She embodies Effie with a twinkle of the eye, great energy, and boundless talent.  Sam Schwartz creates a really convincing henchman who delights in tormenting the hapless duo. This is the strongest performance I have seen from Sam, who is really playing against type. Johnson and Neises are perfect foils for each other. Johnson’s Clell is level headed and he brings gravity to his straight man role. Neises’ Lou is at times clueless and other times shows he actually can think for himself. Mike Shryock does an admirable job as DeGroot. Having played the part a few times, he doesn’t just phone the character in as a lesser actor might. Rounding out the cast, Schmucker’s Officer Carlton, a bit of a Barney Fife of a character, has real physical presence. Schmucker will gain great acting experience in this production.

Costumes by Christy Railsback are period appropriate, fit the actors well and are real extensions of the characters. DeGroot’s very wide lapelled pin stripe suit is a marvel. Richard Shultz has built a set that sets the tone for the evening.

Director and playwright Misty Maynard has created, if you’ll excuse the pun, a tasty cake of a show. The play runs Friday and Saturday nights at 8 p.m. and Sunday afternoons at 2:30 p.m. Tickets may be purchased at the door for $17 evenings and $16 matinees. The streets in Kechi are in the process of being resurfaced, so the corner of 61st and Oliver is blocked off. Your best route is to drive into town on 61st, turn left at the city building, drive north a few blocks, turn right and finally right on Oliver. Park at Karg and walk over to the playhouse.

Up next for the playhouse is Charley’s Aunt  running July 5 through July 27.