Reviewed by Sue Nedar
The current fare at the award-winning Newport Playhouse is Ray Cooney’s Funny Money. A madcap farce of switcheroos, aliases, stolen money, and brief cases … keep your eyes on the brief cases!
Under the direction of Daniel Lee White, the ensemble of seven consists of: Tony Annicone as the dastardly Detective Davenport, Rick Bagley as the unlikely thief Henry Perkins, Pamela Gill as the sexpot Betty Johnson, Jim Killavey as the cantakerous Vic Johnson, Sarah Reed as the frazzled Detective Slater, James Walsh as the suffering taxi driver Bill, and Playhouse staple Sandi Nicastro as poor, poor Jean Perkins.
The plot is simple enough. Henry finds a briefcase loaded with over seven hundred thousand dollars in fifty dollar bills. This briefcase is identical to his boring accountant’s briefcase which holds paperwork and questionable sandwich. Thus we have the switcheroo. Henry has no intention of giving the money back to its rightful owner, and instead books a one way flight to Spain for he and Jean. Meanwhile, through a series of confusions, there are friends, cops, and a taxi driver standing in his way… and costing him money. Lots of money.
This is one of those comedies that is written as a true ensemble piece. There are no small parts in this script. Each character has a role (no pun intended) in adding to the layers of farce; each one keeping Henry from his seven hundred thousand somewhere safe in Spain.
After you’ve seen a few Newport Playhouse shows, you come to expect a level of quality, and you expect to laugh at the antics on the stage. Funny Money doesn’t disappoint.
Bagley plays the straight man opposite Nicastro’s innately hilarious comedic lead, and both are quintessential pros. Killavey has curmudgeonry down to science opposite Gill, who is completely unflapped by her husband’s unpleasantness. Annicone and Reed, each bring very funny interpretations of the greedy cop on the take, and the slightly neurotic straight-laced detective – both delivering big laughs. And Walsh makes a splash with the taxi driver who just wants to get a move-on.
As I said, it’s a true ensemble
piece, and this ensemble is top notch. Each one of them displays great
timing, very funny body language, quick one-liners, and facial expressions that
just cracked me up!
So, if you’re looking for two hours of good old fashioned belly laughs,
preceded by a delicious all-you-can-eat buffet, make a point to get over the
The Newport Playhouse for Funny Money. It’s a night out you won’t
regret!
Funny Money runs now through August 30, 2019 at the Newport Playhouse, 102 Connell Highway, Newport, RI. 401-848-7529 or www.newportplayhouse.com
