Photos by Jackie Merrill
Click-clack goes the typewriter—the sound of a Mrs. Penny Sycamore writing one of her famously abhorred plays. Click-clack goes her grown daughter, Essie, who is practicing, though not very skillfully, a dance routine. Ping! Essie’s husband, the unsuccessful printmaker Ed Carmichael, strikes a xylophone.
With this cacophony of unpleasant sounds, the freshman play, You Can’t Take it With You, written by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman and directed by Summer Williams, introduces the dysfunctional family at its core. In addition to an unsuccessful printmaker, failed playwright and shoddy dancer, the cast includes a father who sells fireworks and a grandfather who has not paid income tax in years.
The story goes that Alice Sycamore (Ericka Garcia), the seemingly most “normal” member of the family, has a new beau, Tony Kirby (Jackson Moreno-Field) who just so happens to be the son of the wealthy businessman Anthony Kirby (Jan Simonds). When the Kirby family comes for dinner, Alice wishes only for her own family to act civilized.
Picture this: Essie (Talia Putnoi) in a bright yellow leotard and tutu, pirouetting and flapping her limbs and hands with her dance teacher, Boris Kolenkhlov (Watson Njoku). In another corner, Mrs. Sycamore (Sophia Pouzyrev) painting a portrait of her husband’s coworker, Mr. de Pinna (Edward Citullo), while Gay Wellington (Dalia Glazman), a drunk actress Mrs. Sycamore brought home, waking every few minutes from alcohol-induced slumber to make a drunken quip or to quote a line from her play-within-a-play. Suddenly, the doorbell rings. The Kirbys have arrived one day early—it is a familiar enough set-up that you can imagine how things most likely went.
Or maybe you cannot, for this play did not just capitalize on the uncomfortable humor familiar to anyone who has ever sat through an awkward family gathering, but on an expansive cast of eccentrics, each more peculiar than the next. From the two Russians played by freshmen Watson Njoku and Sofi Morera, to the IRS Reps and G-Men, played by freshmen Lilly Hartman, Lily Schwartz, Brianna Rutty, Emily Nayyer, Angela Pergantis, Kat Mathieu, Rosa Stern Pait, and Danny Leviton—who intruded upon the occasion equipped with suits and cold-blooded stares into the eyes of the audience—the freshmen brought astounding life to each of their characters.
The two most convincing performances, however, were by Pouzyrev as Mrs. Penny Sycamore, and Glazman as the drunken actress, Gay Wellington. Pouzyrev embraced the character of Penny Sycamore beyond just her costume (an ill-fitting baggy button up blouse under a simple buttoned dress.) Mrs. Sycamore is the stereotypical mom, always embarrassing her daughter with comments suggesting marriage and children. From her deadpan delivery to her imitation of melodrama, Pouzyrev was the actress most capable of getting a laugh out of the audience.
Glazman’s portrayal of Gay Wellington was equally strong. Wellington, a loud, vivacious and perpetually intoxicated actress was a hard role to fill. Glazman, who perfected the walk of a drunken lady, demonstrated her skill for vocal imitation and comic timing.
The heartwarming play raises a question we all find ourselves asking at some point or another: “Why can’t we be like a normal family?” But it also shows that no matter who they are and what crazy things they do, the best families will always support you.
Sophia Rintell can be contacted at [email protected].
