The Show-Off

[The following review appeared in the Denver Post on November 21st.]

Are we beginning to forget what life was like before the crash, when profligacy overruled common sense? If so, then George Kelly's The Show-Off is just what the doctor ordered.

(L to R) Suzanna Wellens as Clara, Jennifer Anne Forsyth as Amy, and Lori Hansen as Mrs. Fisher Photo: Germinal Stage Denver

We're not talking about the zeitgeist prior to the post-9-11 worldwide economic crisis, but the Roaring Twenties run-up to the Great Depression. Time (and the clock in this production) has a funny way of playing tricks on us.

The two eras bear an unmistakable resemblance because they were both driven by greed, and one of Kelly's central motifs in this 1924 melodramatic comedy is our relationship with money.

Lori Hansen as Mrs. Fisher and Travis W. Boswell as Aubrey Piper Photo: Germinal Stage Denver

Into the lives of the hard-working, aspiring, middle class Fishers—Mr. and Mrs. and their three grown children—comes Aubrey Piper (Travis W. Boswell), an egoist and fibber of the first order, courting the youngest daughter, Amy (Jennifer Anne Forsyth).

The story sets up quickly as mom (Lori Hansen) chats with her older daughter, Clara (Suzanna Wellens), who is framed as the sensible one, having married the older and financially secure Frank Hyland (Paul Caouette). Their gossip concerns Amy's blind love for Aubrey, which overlooks his awful toupee, career ruse, salary exaggerations, and tycoon tastes on a clerk's salary.

(L to R) Jennifer Anne Forsyth as Amy and Suzanna Wellens as Clara Photo: Germinal Stage Denver

Wellen's pert Clara seduces us with her practicality, then raises our eyebrows with a wistful romanticism that challenges our assumptions. Hansen's no-nonsense, old school Mrs. Fisher has some surprises up her sleeve as well.

Boswell plays Aubrey with a personality as big as the character's sky high regard for himself; his goofy laugh alone sends the audience over the moon. Forysyth's gaga-eyed Amy's adoration for this clown fills us with superiority: we could never be that foolish! Hah!

Travis W. Boswell as Aubrey Piper and Jennifer Anne Forsyth as Amy Photo: Germinal Stage Denver

Kelly plays on our bourgeois prejudices toward the young couples' relationships, then deftly reverses fields, forcing us off balance and leaving us vulnerable to his message—Don't focus on the money; focus on your gift. While we laugh at Aubrey's hyperbolic audacity, guess who teaches us the biggest lesson of all?

Paul Caouette's steady, but dispassionate, Frank, Patrick Mann's inquisitive, yet inexperienced Joe Fisher, Albert Banker's avuncular Mr. Fisher, Lawrence Allen's thoughtful Mr. Gill, and Eric Victor's perfunctory Mr. Rogers provide local color.

The final preview performance before opening was diluted by some timing issues and a few slow lines that, with this fine cast, are sure to disappear during the run.

Germinal Stage Denver's The Show-Off runs through December 14th. 303-455-7108.

Bob Bows