A farce about dodging taxes and scamming the Internal Revenue Service will have audiences laughing at the next Great Bend Community Theatre production, “Love, Sex and the IRS,” directed by Ken Harton.
This comedy by William Van Zandt and Jane Milmore opens Thursday at the Crest Theater.
Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday, with a 2 p.m. matinee on Sunday, Feb. 26. Also available on Saturday, for an additional $10, is a pre-performance wine and cheese reception beginning at 6 p.m. and featuring ’70s music performed by Patrick McCluskey.
Artistic director/set designer Karen Gore describes the show as an exciting comedy featuring local actors, hilarious lines, sight gags and numerous mistaken identities.
“To save money, Jon, played by Larned native David Burdett, has been filing tax returns claiming his guy-roommate, Leslie, as his wife. The day of reckoning comes when the IRS comes to investigate. Leslie, skillfully played by Great Bend native Marcus Mull, masquerades as a housewife, aided by Jon’s fiancée, Kate. Complicating matters further, Leslie and Kate are having an affair behind Jon’s back. You won’t want to miss how this turns out,” Gore said.
“Burdett and Mull together set a rollicking pace for the show,” she continued. “Newer to the GBCT stage, but clearly holding their own with these veterans, are Terra DeCarolis and Erin Ferguson, also from the Great Bend area, as Kate and Connie. Theatergoers will enjoy the easy-going and quick-witted dialogue that flies among this foursome.”
No stranger to the GBCT stage, Charlie Dixon is also appearing in this production. While his friends in the Hoisington community know Dixon as a real all-around good guy, in Gore’s words, in this show he plays the part of a chronically drunken and derelict landlord.
“Not to be outdone, all-time favorite GBCT funny woman Teresa Frieb will also be appearing, playing Jon’s perpetually-confused mother, who drops in, unannounced, to meet his fiancée, only to be surprised by the very homely Leslie, in drag,” Gore said.
“Spinner, the IRS agent, is so convincingly played by Paul Martin – can we say ‘dry humor’? – theatergoers may be in fear for their own tax audit before leaving the Crest,” Gore said. “Last, but not least, the memorable role of the shyster-lawyer-justice-of-the-peace character named Grunion is played by Demetrius T. Johnson Jr., also of Great Bend.”
Stage manager and props duties for the show are being handled by Bonnie LeRoy. Lighting design and sound are by Dan Heath.
This production is underwritten in part by Larned Veterinary Clinic and by Dennis and Dianne Call.