{"id":2946,"date":"2016-08-06T18:47:56","date_gmt":"2016-08-06T18:47:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hamptontheatre.org\/?p=2946"},"modified":"2017-11-19T14:08:26","modified_gmt":"2017-11-19T14:08:26","slug":"alarms-and-excursions-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hamptontheatre.org\/?p=2946","title":{"rendered":"Alarms and Excursions"},"content":{"rendered":"Michael Frayn\u2019s deliriously funny collection of comedies of embarrassment offers hilarious commentary on the fiendish new technology that is meant to make our lives easier while actually providing new forms of torment.\r\n\n

GENERAL INFO<\/a><\/p>\n

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May 25 – June 11, 2017<\/h5>\r\n
by Michael Frayn\r\ndirected by Diana Marbury<\/h5>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
\r\nCAST:<\/strong>\r\n
<\/a>

Andrew Botsford<\/p><\/div>\r\n\r\n

<\/a>

George A. Loizides<\/p><\/div>\r\n\r\n

<\/a>

Rosemary Cline<\/p><\/div>\r\n\r\n

<\/a>

Jane Lowe<\/p><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<\/div>

<\/div>\r\n\r\n\n <\/div>\n

WHO'S WHO<\/a><\/p>\n

\n \t\r\nANDREW BOTSFORD<\/strong> (Actor A) has appeared in more than 40 Hampton Theatre Company productions since 1985, most recently as U.S. President Charles Smith in this season\u2019s November by David Mamet. Other stage work includes Round Table Theatre Company\u2019s production of Shakespeare\u2019s Scottish Play and Tonight at 8:30 at Guild Hall\u2019s John Drew Theater. The host of a summer film commentary program at the Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center, he is also the co-host of the annual Hamptons Take 2 Documentary Film Festival. For his day job, Andrew is delighted to be working with the exceptional team at the Stony Brook Southampton Graduate Arts campus. Great thanks to Jimmy Ewing for asking me to play two roles in the company\u2019s second production in 1985, and more thanks to Sarah Hunnewell for her years of hard work and dedication to the forward momentum of the Hampton Theatre Company. \r\n\r\nROSEMARY CLINE<\/strong> (Actor B) last appeared with the HTC as Masha in Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike. A founding member of the company, she has had leading roles in 30+ productions. She spent 15 years in NYC performing in theater, film and TV as well as 7 years in summer stock in the tri-state region. She is pursuing an MFA at Stony Brook\/SH in directing and acting and has studied with Mercedes Ruehl, Joanna Merlin, Tony Walton and Rinde Eckert. For nine years she has directed plays and musicals in the WHB school district. Heartfelt thanks to our amazing director, Diana, our beautiful cast and crew and all of those who make the magic happen year after year. All love to Christopher, Cashew, Carter, June and Jane–with a wink to Mom and Dad.\r\n\r\nGEORGE A. LOIZIDES<\/strong> (Actor C) is very happy to be back on the HTC stage, especially working with some of his favorite humans. Last seen in Heroes, he has also appeared in Bedroom Farce, … Cuckoo\u2019s Nest and Glen Garry Glen Ross for HTC. He directed last season\u2019s Lost in Yonkers and previously The Odd Couple (Female Version), Picnic, and Bus Stop. As an actor and director for almost fifty years George has worked extensively for Playcrafters Theatre Company in Bellport. For 27 years he was Director of Theatre Arts for Ward Melville High School in Setauket where he directed 81 productions. He attended HB Studio in Manhattan studying acting and directing. To Diana, the cast, and HTC \u201cThanks, thanks and ever thanks\u201d for this opportunity to have a \u201chellovalotta\u201d fun. Love to Kathy.\r\n\r\nJANE LOWE<\/strong> (Actor B). After appearing in last season\u2019s Vanya & Sonia & Masha & Spike, Jane is happy to have the opportunity to join HTC again in this raucous spring production. This marks Jane\u2019s 17th production with the company. A graduate of The Juilliard School, she began her career as a dancer performing in the major theaters and opera houses throughout the world. She was a principal in the Broadway production of Oh! Calcutta!. Jane played a \u201cKit Kat\u201d girl in Cabaret in Berlin, Germany. She has also appeared in many Off and Off Off Broadway shows. Jane is very grateful to Diana for giving her another opportunity to work with this talented cast as she guides us with her steady hand and creative vision. \r\n\r\nMichael Frayn<\/strong> (Playwright), British playwright, novelist, translator and journalist, began his writing career as a reporter and columnist for The Guardian and The Observer. His plays include Alphabetical Order (1975), Clouds (1976), Donkeys\u2019 Years (1977), Make and Break (1980), Noises Off (1982\u2013presented by the HTC in 1995), Benefactors (1984), Copenhagen (1998), Democracy (2003), and Afterlife (2008). Novels include The Tin Men, The Russian Interpreter, Towards the End of the Morning, A Landing on the Sun, Headlong, Spies and Skios. He has also translated a number of works from Russian, including plays by Chekhov and Tolstoy. His films for television include First and Last and an adaptation of A Landing on the Sun. He also wrote the screenplay for the film Clockwise. Other books are Stage Directions: Writing on Theatre 1970-2008, Travels with a Typewriter and a memoir, My Father\u2019s Fortune: A Life. Mr. Frayn is the recipient of multiple awards including the Tony Award for best play (Copenhagen, 2000), the Writer\u2019s Guild Lifetime Achievement Award (2010) and the South Bank Show Outstanding Achievement Award (2012).\r\n\r\nDIANA MARBURY<\/strong> (Director, Set Decor) is delighted to be closing our 32nd season with this madcap comedy, having opened it directing Mamet\u2019s outrageous political comedy November. Diana has worn many hats with the HTC and the Director\u2019s cap is a favorite. She has acted in over 50 shows for the company, most recently as Vera Joseph in this season\u2019s production of 4000 miles. She has dressed sets for 30 years, first working alongside her beloved late husband, Peter, and now with her gifted son, Sean. She would like to thank all our wonderful supporters who have generously lent furniture and props over all these years, and, of course,\r\nour patrons who have kept the theater alive here in Quogue.\r\n\r\nSEAN MARBURY<\/strong> (Set Designer) has worked in textile design, built sets for TV series, commercials, and films and worked with the design, engineering and fabrication of race car components. He currently works on high end residential construction. His set designs for HTC include Deathtrap, Other People\u2019s Money, Other Desert Cities, The Foreigner, Harvey, Time Stands Still, November and An Act of the Imagination.\r\n\r\nSEBASTIAN PACZYNSKI<\/strong> (Lighting Designer) has designed all the company\u2019s productions since 2004 as well as the theater\u2019s lighting system. He has designed lighting for theater, dance and special events in a number of Broadway, Off Broadway, Off Off Broadway and regional venues. He has also worked in film and television as the director of photography. He has designed numerous productions for Guild Hall and for the Hamptons Shakespeare Festival.\r\n\r\nTERESA LEBRUN<\/strong> (Costume Designer) is the resident costumer for HTC. She started helping with costumes in 1986 and has designed the costumes for all the company\u2019s productions since 2005. Teresa also costumes for Center Moriches and Westhampton Beach High Schools. She is happy to be working with her dear friend Diana and this amazing cast. Much love to her boys, Josh and Noah, family and great friends.\r\n\r\nCHRISSIE DEPIERRO<\/strong> (Stage Manager) is happy to be sharing in the process of bringing Alarms and Excursions to life. Many thanks to director Diana Marbury for her never ending dedication to HTC, to the outstanding cast who make each day a treat with their talent and wit, and to all the techs whose hard work never lets us down. A special thank you to Rebecca Edana for helping her during the rehearsal process. \u201cTo my stars that shine so bright, Kristopher, Theresa, Matthew and Samantha, it\u2019s all because of you!!\u201d\r\n\r\nMARYAM DOWLING<\/strong> (Lighting & Sound Technician) has done lighting and sound for 23 years with various theater groups on the East End. Maryam has also helped Sebastian with lighting setup at Guild Hall, the Ross School, and other local venues. This is Maryam\u2019s eighth season with the Hampton Theatre Company and she is very happy to be part of the show and the company.\r\n\r\nJULIA MORGAN ABRAMS<\/strong> (House Manager). After retiring from the legal department of Bristol Myers Squibb, Julia began a second career as a volunteer, initially for Literacy Suffolk, HTC and the Southampton Animal Shelter, where she wrote grants and worked in fundraising. She continues to write grants and help with marketing for several local nonprofits. Julia would like to thank all of her dedicated House Assistants for their continued support.\r\n\r\n\n <\/div>\n

PRODUCTION STAFF<\/a><\/p>\n

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\r\nDirector – DIANA MARBURY\r\nSet Design – SEAN MARBURY\r\nLighting Design – SEBASTIAN PACZYNSKI\r\nSet Decor – DIANA MARBURY\r\nCostume Design – TERESA LEBRUN\r\nStage Manager – CHRISSIE DEPIERRO\r\nSet Construction – SEAN MARBURY, GABRIEL ALVARADO, CARLOS BUENO, LUIS CHAVAC, ANA GARCIA, WILLY GARCIA, SCOTT HOLDSWORTH, CONNOR McGLONE, PATRICK McGLONE, SEAMUS NAUGHTON, NICK PARKER, ALONZO SAZO\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n
\r\nSound Design – SEAMUS NAUGHTON\r\nLighting\/Sound Tech – MARYAM DOWLING, SEAMUS NAUGHTON\r\nBox Office – LISA CARR\r\nProduction Graphics – JOE PALLISTER (DESIGNINGJOE<\/a>)\r\nHouse Manager – JULIA MORGAN ABRAMS\r\nProduction Photographer – TOM KOCHIE\r\n\r\n<\/div>
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REVIEWS<\/a><\/p>\n

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\u2018Alarms and Excursions\u2019 review: High-tech laughs in Quogue<\/h4>\r\n\r\nBy Steve Parks <\/strong>\r\n(Newsday)\r\n\r\nDon\u2019t be alarmed. It\u2019s an excursion into farce that\u2019s taken over the stage occupied by the Hampton Theatre Company.\r\n\r\nLooking up the meaning of \u201calarms and excursions,\u201d you\u2019ll find that the phrase was deployed as stage direction in Shakespearean plays, signifying frantic activity, such as war.\r\n\r\nNothing so grave transpires in \u201cAlarms and Excursions,\u201d a 1998 collection of sketches assembled as comic relief for the playwright. Michael Frayn said he turned to it as an antidote to the stress of writing \u201cCopenhagen,\u201d which examined how close the Nazis came to developing an atomic bomb.\r\n\r\nThe lone casualty in \u201cA&E\u201d sustains her injury in the first of five shorts: Two couples \u2014 the hosts and their dinner guests \u2014 become hapless victims of technology, from smoke and car alarms to answering machines and newfangled, potentially lethal corkscrews.\r\n\r\nDirected with a sharp sense of comic timing by Diana Marbury, the Andrew Botsford, Rosemary Cline, George Loizides and Jane Lowe quartet plays this and other couple configurations, delivering relatable absurdity to everyday domesticity. The styles range from running in and out (or into) multiple doors, typical of many an all-out farce (witness Frayn\u2019s \u201cNoises Off\u201d), to matched pairings of gymnastic linguistics.\r\n\r\n\u201cFinishing Touches,\u201d with Botsford in a smoking jacket, comes off as \u201cMasterpiece Theatre\u201d parody. He can\u2019t finish a sentence because his wife, played with snooty elegance by Lowe, beats him to the punch \u2014 except for the skit\u2019s punchline, a delicious pun that would be criminal to divulge. Language of a different social order dominates \u201cPig in the Middle.\u201d A debate over unidentified \u201cthingies\u201d devolves into a marital power struggle as Loizides and Cline trade all-but-incomprehensible rhythmic barbs. (Costumes by Teresa LeBrun say it all in terms of class.) Act I\u2019s finale revisits the opening scene. Someone, evidently, has managed to open bottles of wine for serial toasts that never end in \u201cgood night.\u201d\r\n\r\nAn extended Act II mini-play is a bit too extended at times. Two couples occupying identical side-by-side motel rooms (Sean Marbury\u2019s double-vision set) become relentlessly judgmental after bumping into each other in the hall. Now we know what complete strangers really think of us.\r\n\r\nThe play has evolved since 1998. We understand why Frayn dropped the short about pay phones. But what about the one on squeezed-together airline passengers? Yes, 9\/11 intervened. Still, it seems hyper-relevant now.\r\n\r\n
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Frayn\u2019s Farce of Foibles In Quogue<\/h4>\r\nHampton Theatre Company Will Conclude 32rd Season With ‘Alarms And Excursions’ \r\n\r\nBy Lorraine Dusky<\/strong>\r\n(Southampton Press and East Hampton Press) \r\n\r\nWhat do the squeals and shrieks of a human orgasm sound like to others listening through the wall?\r\n\r\nCertainly nearly everyone who has partaken of that rite of survival of the species thinks they know what that might sound like.\r\n\r\nNot so fast. Something else more mundane might be under way.\r\n\r\nPlaywright Michael Frayn makes much of just such a misconception in his farce of human foibles and follies, \u201cAlarms and Excursions,\u201d currently staged by Hampton Theatre Company in Quogue.\r\n\r\nIn two acts and five sketches\u2014only two are related by plot points\u2014Mr. Frayn plucks our awareness of the frequent absurdity of human behavior not only when we interact with each other, but also with inanimate objects, which are definitely out to get us. The result is a madcap two hours of lightness and laughter with a nimble cast of four under the brisk direction of HTC artistic director Diana Marbury. For those old enough to remember\u2014that would be most of the audience in Quogue\u2014think Lucy and Desi and Fred and Ethel of \u201cI Love Lucy.\u201d Mr. Frayn\u2019s work here is just that silly. \r\n\r\nHe is best known for \u201cCopenhagen,\u201d a serious work about the rationale for making an atomic bomb and for which he won a Tony, and \u201cNoises Off,\u201d a farce, that was previously staged by HTC.\r\n\r\nThe highlight of this staging of \u201cAlarms and Excursions\u201d is the second act, which puts two couples (Andrew Botsford and Jane Lowe; George Loizides and Rosemary Cline) in hotel rooms that are down-to-the-pillow-slip duplicates of each other. (As we have come to expect, the sets by Ms. Marbury and her son, Sean, are handsome and detailed.) \r\n\r\nThe twosomes interact not only with each other, but also the hotel room itself, couple to couple, as well as woman to woman, and man to man. At times, they mirror each other, but not quite\u2014yet enough so that we see how similarly all we humans might respond to the surprise, of say, a trouser press in our hotel room. Okay, that\u2019s a throwback to an earlier era, making \u201cAlarms and Excursions\u201d a 1998 period piece set specifically in Britain. Over here, I\u2019ll venture that such an accoutrement in a mid-priced hotel room even a decade ago was nearly nonexistent. Instead, one called room service and the offending trousers were taken away to be returned perfectly pressed.\r\n\r\nThe skit drags a little\u2014a running gag about what the couples are named goes nowhere\u2014but the aforementioned orgasmic scene is worth the wait. What do most people remember about \u201cWhen Harry Met Sally\u201d? Meg Ryan\u2019s demonstration in a deli of a woman faking an orgasm. The same will be true here, as Mr. Botsford and Ms. Lowe carry it off with knowing panache.\r\n\r\nWhen the farce was performed in England, much was made of our being in thrall to modern technology, such as answering machines and smoke detectors that won\u2019t stop beeping. Yet here and now, the opening skit, which deals with gadgets gone wild, seems less than fresh, and not just because the technology has advanced. Perhaps that is because the skit goes on too long.\r\n\r\nMiscommunication among humans is the subject of the next spoof as a couple go several rounds about a simple household problem. With Mr. Frayn\u2019s smart dialogue knotting farce and satire together flawlessly, Mr. Loizides and Ms. Cline hilariously demonstrate how inexactitude leads to stupefaction and thus, exasperation. Many a long-married couple will recognize themselves here and again throughout the evening.\r\n\r\nThe real charmer in the first act is a short but brilliant discourse between Mr. Botsford and Ms. Lowe in which they complete each other\u2019s sentences. The two actors are extremely well paired; their timing is exquisite.\r\n\r\nHTC knows its audience well, and chooses plays to suit. HTC is not the place for edgy, experimental theater, though that is not to say that all of the selections are akin to cotton candy; some are thoughtful dramas about the human condition. \u201cClybourne Park,\u201d an examination of race relations, that HTC staged a few years ago, was one such offering.\r\n\r\n\u201cAlarms and Excursions\u201d is not of that ilk. This is one to see because live theater by a competent troupe nearby is like having friends by to perform in your living room, and because this fizzy froth is, simply put: fun.\r\n\r\n\u201cAlarms and Excursions\u201d continues at Quogue Community Hall, 125 Jessup Avenue, Quogue, through June 11, Thursdays and Fridays at 7 p.m., Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2:30 p.m, except for Saturday, June 3, when a 6:30 p.m. benefit performance is planned, preceded by wine and hors d\u2019oeuvres at the theater and followed by a cocktail buffet at the Quogue Field Club. An additional matin\u00e9e is planned Saturday, June 10, at 2:30 p.m. Show tickets are $30, with discounts available for seniors 65 and older, those under 35, and students, available by calling 866-811-4111. Tickets to the benefit are $175 each or $300 for a pair, available by calling 631-653-8955 or online by Tuesday, May 30.\r\n\r\n
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Delirious Chaos at HTC\u2019s Alarms & Excursions<\/h4>\r\nby Beth Young<\/strong>\r\n(East End Beacon) \r\n\r\nAs audience members were leaving Hampton Theatre Company\u2019s opening night performance of \u201cAlarms & Excursions,\u201d they were delicately choosing words to speak to their theater partners, awkwardly pushing the exit doors and carefully testing the steps at the entry to the Quogue Community House as they fumbled with their electronic car door openers.\r\n\r\nThe advance press on this production called \u201cAlarms & Excursions\u201d a \u2018delirious comedy.\u2019 It was an unusual description, but after seeing this play I realized it was really quite brilliantly apt. This play will turn your world on its head, at least for a couple hours after you leave the theater, and that\u2019s something all good theater should do.\r\n\r\nPlaywright Michael Frayn, perhaps most famously known for writing \u201cNoises Off,\u201d created a brilliant world of bumbling couples for this 1998 series of five maddening vignettes, and the HTC veteran four-person cast, under the expert direction of Diana Marbury, has a ball with this material.\r\n\r\nWith wigs, false mustaches and elaborate costume changes, Andrew Botsford, Rosemary Cline, George Loizides and Jane Lowe (referred to in the playbill as Actors A, B, C & D) take on the personae of a bizarre array of characters \u2014 all middle aged couples, all having difficulty communicating with one another, all publicly wrestling with their own personal pits of unfulfillment.\r\n\r\nWhile much of the press about this play focuses on the difficulties posed by technology in modern life \u2014 technology that has only become more maddening since \u201cAlarms & Excursions\u201d was first produced in 1998 \u2014 it\u2019s the way these characters interact with their spouses that is really the thread that ties these pieces together.\r\n\r\nGeorge Loizides in HTC\u2019s production of \u201cAlarms & Excursions\u201d | Tom Kochie\r\nThe play opens as Mr. Botsford and Ms. Cline welcome Mr. Loizides and Ms. Lowe over for dinner. But between a dangerous wine bottle-opening gadget, a chirping smoke alarm, a ridiculous whole-house phone network and the alarm on their oven, the two couples spend much of the evening running around and off stage, slamming doors, standing on or rolling under tables and trying to get Ms. Cline out the door to Casualty (This is a British play. She\u2019s not dead.) after she slices her hand open with the bottle opener.\r\n\r\nWe leave these couples as abruptly as we join them, entering another world of a working class couple played by Mr. Loizides and Ms. Cline, as he arrives home from work with his lunch pail and she tries to explain to him what happened that day when a man came by to look at a thing that was malfunctioning in their house.\r\n\r\nIt\u2019s an understated but brilliant sketch, Ms. Cline wearing work coveralls and pantyhose rolled down mid-calf, smirking as she deliberately sets her husband off on a discussion that they\u2019ve obviously had many times before, Mr. Loizides\u2019 character, morphed decades younger by a brown mop-topped wig, convinced that she is just a foolish woman, not realizing that she has deliberately set off this interaction.\r\n\r\nIn less deft hands, this type of dialogue could be terribly painful. But Frayn\u2019s pacing is so frenetic that it\u2019s the stuff of great comedy. If Thursday\u2019s audience were capable of it, they would have been rolling on the floor laughing.\r\n\r\nAs often is the case at HTC, the set design by Sean Marbury and lighting by Sebastian Paczynski here are superb, and there\u2019s one big brilliant set change at intermission that takes us to two hotel rooms, perhaps somewhere by the sea but overlooking a car park, where our couples, now a new set of characters, are trying to have a couple of good holidays.\r\n\r\nIf you\u2019ve ever been on holiday with your mate, you will probably wince with familiarity at the drudging dialogue that ensues: where to put your suitcase, an examination of the mini-bar, a reading of hotel literature about the in-house restaurant, an excursion to the bathroom, an examination of the view of the aforementioned car park, the joy at finding a trouser press \u2014 a great novelty! \u2014 in each room.\r\n\r\nBut don\u2019t fear, these characters take this drudgery somewhere superbly funny.\r\n\r\nAll four actors do a fine job with this material and are obviously quite at home on the stage. You will likely remember Ms. Cline and Ms. Lowe\u2019s performances in last spring\u2019s HTC production of \u201cVanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike,\u201d and Mr. Botsford as the President of the United States in last fall\u2019s production of \u201cNovember.\u201d\r\n\r\nIt was great to see Mr. Loizides back on the HTC stage \u2014 his last on-stage role was in the company\u2019s production of \u201cHeroes\u201d more than three years ago.\r\n\r\nThe actors in this show are all fine chameleons, and watching them become new people again and again in the space of two hours is a rare treat.\r\n\r\nAccording to HTC, this play, like \u201cNoises Off,\u201d takes its title from a stage direction, \u201cin this case the Elizabethan script note originally rendered in Shakespeare\u2019s first folio as \u201calarums and excursions.\u201d While \u201cnoises off\u201d calls for sounds to be made offstage, \u201calarms and excursions\u201d started out as a direction to the players to represent military action by loudly calling out \u201cto arms!\u201d and moving rapidly around the stage. The phrase eventually came to mean that everybody on stage should make as much noise as possible and run on and off stage repeatedly to depict chaos.\u201d\r\n\r\nIn the case of this show, chaos is just what the doctor ordered. Bravo.\r\n\r\nPerformances will be held through June 11 on Thursdays and Fridays at 7 p.m., Saturday June 10 at 2:30 and 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2:30 p.m.\r\n\r\nOn Saturday, June 3, there will be a special benefit performance.The audience will enjoy a glass of wine or beer and hors d\u2019oeuvres at the theater at 6 p.m. prior to the 6:30 p.m. curtain, and there will be a cocktail reception and buffet following the performance at the Quogue Field Club. Tickets are $175 per person or $300 per couple. For more information, email info@hamptontheatre.org, or call 631.653.8955.\r\n\r\nRegular prices are $30 for adults, $25 for seniors (except Saturday evening), $15 for those under 35 and $10 for students under 21. Tickets are available at 1.866.811.4111.\r\n\r\n
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ALARMS AND EXCURSIONS<\/h4>\r\nBy Bridget LeRoy<\/strong>\r\n(The Independent)\r\n\r\nMichael Frayn\u2019s Alarms and Excursions is the final production of the Hampton Theatre Company in Quogue\u2019s 32nd season, and continues the community theater\u2019s tradition of offering its audiences \u201cdeep cuts\u201d by famous playwrights. Frayn is better known for his other fast-paced comedy, Noises Off, as well as his more serious works like Copenhagen and Democracy, but Alarms and Excursions \u2013 which features a series of vignettes on the Alarms And Excursions foibles and misunderstandings that arise from our relationships with technology and with each other \u2013 is not often produced.\r\nThe original production featured eight short plays, but HTC director Diana Marbury has wisely chosen only five, which fits neatly into a two-hour production with one intermission, with four actors playing different characters throughout.\r\n\r\nAct one opens with \u201cAlarms,\u201d in which four friends, who plan on a quiet dinner party, are bothered by an unidentifiable beeping noise. Of course, it only goes downhill from there, as other buzzers, alarms, and new-fangled gadgets join the fray. The HTC veteran cast \u2013 Andrew Botsford, Rosemary Cline, George A. Loizides, and Jane Lowe \u2013 perform wonderfully as an ensemble all the way through the evening, and in a work where timing is everything, showed their best chops to a gleeful opening night crowd.\r\nNext up, \u201cPig in the Middle,\u201d where Cline as the wife tries to explain to her husband, played by Loizides, what \u201cthe man who came about the thing\u201d had to say. Apparently, it\u2019s not \u201cthe thing around the back.\u201d That\u2019s the trouble; it\u2019s something else. Any married couple who has tried to explain anything to each other will relate.\r\n\r\nThird is \u201cFinishing Touches\u201d where a wife, played by Lowe, always finishes her husband\u2019s \u2026 sentences. Botsford plays the beleaguered husband, but by the end, the tables have turned and the pace has quickened. Finishing up the first act, \u201cLeavings,\u201d which brings us back to the quartet from the first scene, after many, many, many bottles of wine, and finally, blessed silence. And yet the guests just won\u2019t leave. Conversations get started, dropped, picked up, dropped again, picked up again, as actors wander off and return in an exhausted and drunken daze, almost Beckett-like in its absurdity. After the intermission, the entire second act offers up \u201cDoubles,\u201d where two couples, who are strangers, attempt to enjoy their vacations in adjacent rooms. This is really Frayn\u2019s comedic writing at its meatiest, as the jokes and misunderstanding abound. Again, Marbury has done an outstanding job choreographing the actors, who sometimes talk over each other and sometimes say the same lines together, who sometimes acknowledge each other (listening at the wall) and other times perform unintentional mirror exercises.\r\n\r\nAs always, HTC features fabulous sets by Sean Marbury, lighting by Sebastian Paczynski, and costumes by Teresa LeBrun. Heading now into its 33rd year, Hampton Theatre Company continues to present top-grade productions to an appreciative audience. \r\n\r\n
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ALARMS AND EXCURSIONS<\/h4> \r\npresented by The Hampton Theatre Company\r\n\r\nby Melissa Giordano<\/strong>\r\n(broadwayworld.com) \r\n \r\n\r\nClosing out their spectacular 32nd season, The Hampton Theatre Company (HTC) offers the uproarious British comedy Alarms and Excursions by Michael Frayn. In this engaging play, the actors appear in a series of vignettes – different characters and stories; sometimes all on stage together and sometimes not – making light of otherwise embarrassing situations. Moreover, situations involving new technology – 1998 technology. Most of the vignettes don’t have any relation, but each are absolutely sidesplitting.\r\n\r\nTo give you perhaps a better idea, I dare say that I liken this type of production to one of my favorite television shows I Love Lucy. Each of the vignettes, like the show, are simple, lighthearted, and funny with people navigating day-to-day life and getting into and out of situations; except there’s no scatter brained red head.\r\n\r\nThis incarnation, running through June 11th at the Quogue Community Hall, is excellently directed by Artistic Director Diana Marbury.\r\n\r\nBoasting a wonderful ensemble cast of four – HTC vets Andrew Botsford, Rosemary Cline, George A. Loizides, and Jane Lowe – they will surely have you laughing long after you’ve seen this production. The busy first act is the “alarms” part when smoke alarms, timers, and such go off at hilariously inopportune times. We see all but one of the vignettes in the first half of the show and the amount of physicality from the troupe is inspired. A strong comedic cast is required for this type of show, and this company delivers superbly.\r\n\r\nThe second act is the “excursions” part set in a hotel as the characters are on vacation. There are specific movements needed for this section as theirs is an intimate stage and the couples cannot see each other at first. But let me tell you, out of all of the vignettes, this part seems to net the most laughs.\r\n\r\nAnd fittingly, the term “Alarms and Excursions” is an old theatre term, too.\r\n\r\nAlso a highlight is Ms. Marbury’s creative team and stage crew. Seamus Naughton’s sound design is top-notch and indeed an integral part of this show. Perfect timing adds the laughter from the audience. This is enhanced perfectly from Sean Marbury’s clever set and Teresa LeBrun’s stunning costumes. And special kudos to the outstanding stage crew. In particular, the vignettes in the first act are each about 10 minutes long, so they have very little time to switch scenes, costumes, wigs… everything. A job very well done to all.\r\n\r\nAnd so, the Hampton Theatre Company culminates another thrilling season with a fantastic showing of Michael Frayn’s Alarms And Excursions. I truly appreciate the HTCs keen sense of their audience and the wonderful sometimes semi-obscure productions they run. I’m sure next season will be just as stellar!\r\n\r\nAlarms And Excursions is presented by The Hampton Theatre Company at the Quogue Community Hall of Quogue, Long Island, through June 11th. For more information and to purchase tickets, please call (631) 653-8955 or visit www.hamptontheatre.org.\r\n\r\nBy Michael Frayn, Direction and Set D\u00e9cor by Diana Marbury, Set Design by Sean Marbury, Lighting Design by Sebastian Paczynski, Costume Design by Teresa LeBrun, Sound Design by Seamus Naughton, Stage Management by Chrissie DePierro\r\n\r\n\n <\/div>\n

AUDIENCE COMMENTS<\/a><\/p>\n

\n \t\r\n “If you finish your mates sentences, have quirky friends you feel at home with, have wondered who has been in your hotel room before you…this is definitely a delightful and touching play for you to enjoy…”\r\n– Sheila Jones<\/strong>\r\n\r\n“The timing was picture perfect.”\r\n– Rosemary McAllister<\/strong>\r\n\r\n“I adored it. Totally funny and totally spot on.”\r\n– James Sperber<\/strong>\r\n\r\n“Fun show!”\r\n– Richard Barons<\/strong>\r\n\n <\/div><\/div>\n\r\n\r\nGallery – photos by Tom Kochie\r\n\n\t\t