Out of Order
by Ray Cooney
Directed by Douglas A. Hary

When Richard Willey, a Republican Senator, plans to spend the evening with Jane, a secretary to a member of the Democratic party, things go disastrously wrong - beginning with the discovery of a "body" trapped in the hotel's only unreliable window. Desperately trying to get out of a potentially headline-making situation, Richard calls for his Administrative Assistant, George. However, with a conniving waiter, a suspicious hotel manager, an alert private detective, an angry wife, a furious husband, a bungling secretary, an unconscious nurse and a dead body to deal with, this is not the romantic evening Richard had planned.
FOR ADULTS ONLY.

Week 1: January 9, 10 at 8 pm - January 11 at 2 pm

Week 2: January 16, 17 at 8 pm - January 18 at 2 pm

Week 3: January 23, 24 at 8 pm

I remember the first time I ever experienced the magic of Farce. I was a younger man embarking on the adventure of a life in the theatre; full of promise and excitement tempered by the reality of putting food on the table and working very long hours for very little monetary reward. As my first big break, I was cast in the play BLITHE SPIRIT by Sir Noel Coward. And so to prove myself, I set out to devour everything I could get my hands on in regard to this master of the British comedy. I headed straight to the library and began to read the full autobiography of Sir Noel's life. It was in the ink of those musty, dog-eared pages that my understanding of the nature of this seemingly mundane, at times broad and silly genre of Farce took shape. Farce transcends the world. Farce is social commentary without preconditions. Farce is the fastest way to that security blanket of your youth which gives a moment's rest to the world "outside."

During the most difficult days of WWII, and the bombing of downtown London, Coward locked himself inside his hotel room for three days. At the end of the third day, he slid the manuscript of BLITHE SPIRIT out from under the door and the stage hand rushed down the street to the theatre. The actors assembled and the rehearsals were underway. Two weeks later, Sir Noel slipped into the back of the theatre house to witness what he knew would be his final play on London's stages, for surely the audiences would NOT come for fear of their homes, their families, their own lives. As the curtain lifted and the stage lights came on to reveal the stage, he saw the theatre was completely full. The sound of laughter filled the house. And as the doors shook from the bombing outside, not a single patron left their seat. Nothing could take them away. Life was vibrant inside.

The power of theatre and Farce is greater than the sum of us. It releases us from our problems, however briefly, and gives us back the vibrancy of life as we knew it. It renews our joy for living through laughter. It paints the pictures we want, rather than the ones we have. And so, tonight we invite you inside. Find your seat, slide your hand into that of the young love next to you, and revisit the world you once knew; full of laughter and vitality. If you look quickly you might even catch the world, just as it is.

Douglas A. Hary