Theater Review: 'Moon Over Buffalo' at Sacred Heart University

by Nancy Sasso Janis

Sacred Heart University Performing Arts Theatre Arts Program is tackling the hilarious comedy “Moon Over Buffalo” by Ken Ludwig, who is also the author of “Lend Me a Tenor.” The students will perform through March 26.

Jerry Goehring, who has directed over 40 shows at SHU, directs this tight production, helping his students master everything needed to make this piece work. On the stage and behind the scenes, everything about this performance is theatrically impressive. Joe Dunn served as assistant director.

Charlotte and George Hay are on tour in Buffalo in 1953 with a repertory consisting of “Cyrano de Bergerac” and Noel Coward's “Private Lives,” when they receive word that they might just have one last shot at stardom, because Frank Capra is coming to town to see their matinee.

The script includes references to Greer Garson, Frank Capra, but this didn’t seem to deter the young adults in the audience who had come out in force to support their classmates.

“Moon Over Buffalo,” written by Ludwig in 1995, is a lively comedy with wacky and very funny personalities that inhabit the world of theater, almost a love letter to the theater. Set in 1953, the action is non stop. The action and dialogue are extremely fast-paced. The characters are constantly bickering, yelling at each other, or frantically trying to resolve some confusion. It has various similarities to Ludwig's previous farce, “Lend Me A Tenor.”

This non-stop, full of life comedy is not one to miss! A valentine to the stage, filled with larger-than-life personalities that inhabit the world of the theater.

Jordan Pita, a junior at SHU, is hysterical as the traveling actor George Hay. He nails the physical comedy in the role of the often inebriated and womanizing George. Pita played the role of Bob Crachit in “A Christmas Carol,” and Thomas Putnam in “The Crucible.” SHU senior Abigail Palmer (Cassie in “A Chorus Line”) wonderfully plays his wife Charlotte.

Junior Maggie Devlin (“A Christmas Carol”) masters the dry wit of Ethel, Charlotte's nearly-deaf mother played by Maggie Ives (Mary Warren in “The Crucible.”) George and Charlotte's daughter, who left the stage to lead a "normal" life, returns to introduce her fiancé to her parents.

Graig McMenamin, a SHU junior computer science major, plays the bumbling TV weatherman Howard and brings out all of the comedy in his role as Maggie's betrothed.

Freshman Nora Delahanty, who is a theater arts major at SHU, plays the blonde Eileen, an actress in George's company who was George's "one-night stand." Delahanty played Belle in the recent “A Christmas Carol.”

Samuele Deluise, a SHU senior majoring in English and theater arts, plays Paul, stage manager for George's company, and Rosalind's ex-fiancé.

SHU junior Samuel Eaton (Rev. Parris in “The Crucible”) gets to play the rich, love-sick lawyer named Richard.

As always, the set design is credited to the entire TAP, but this one is especially detailed and wacky, as well as including five doors to slam. Hair and makeup design by Kayla Goncalves and Danielle Toppa included a few wigs and worked for the strongly drawn characters, as did the excellent costumes designed by Grace Curley and Colleen DeGennaro. Don’t miss the elegant outfits worn by Mrs. Hay throughout. Props designed by Grace Posillico and Dani Savino make the action move along well and the backstage room look cluttered. Nick Rubano (Hunter in “[title of show]”) was in charge of sound.

On opening night, there was a prop telephone mishap (probably as a result of a nearby slamming door,) but the actors quickly fixed it and even worked it into their banter. Producer Anna Allegretti gave the opening night curtain speech, to the delight of her fellow students.

It is a pleasure to watch these talented university students bring this demanding piece to life, never missing a step, an entrance, a door slam or the careful delivery of a funny line, of which there are many. A few lines were difficult to hear because of the audience's laughter, but otherwise the timing was perfect. I would recommend a seat closer to the stage, so as not to miss the action that takes place on the floor of the stage.

The performance is presented with one 15-minute intermission and runs about two hours.
Get your tickets online at edgertoncenter.org, at the Edgerton Center Box Office in person Monday to Friday, 12-4, or on the phone at (203) 371-7908.

Nancy Sasso Janis, writing theatre reviews since 2012 as a way to support local venues, posts well over 100 reviews each year. In 2016, her membership in the Connecticut Critics Circle began and her contributions of theatrical reviews, previews, and audition notices are posted not only in the Naugatuck Patch but also on the Patch sites closest to the venue. She recently became a contributor to the Waterbury Republican-American newspaper. Her weekly column and theatre reviews appear in the Thursday Weekend section of the paper.

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