“FOX ON THE FAIRWAY” AT OPERA HOUSE

16 Dec “FOX ON THE FAIRWAY” AT OPERA HOUSE

For all you trivia buffs, here’s one. Or two.

Thomas Edison once invented an electric golf ball to enable night play. And, Richard Nixon played golf alone every Wednesday at 10 a.m. wearing a business suit and tie. That image in itself is rib tickler, but not as funny as Ken Ludwig’s play about life, love and golf set in a posh club, “The Fox on the Fairway.”

The Sheridan Arts Foundation and Jeb Berrier’s Second Stage Theater present “The Fox on the Fairway,” a farce filled with mistaken identities, slamming doors shades of “Noises Off !” and unapologetically over-the-top romantic shenanigans. The local production takes place Sunday, December 18 – Thursday, December 22. The curtain goes up at 8 p.m. The local cast features Jeb, Ashley Boling, Megan Heller, Buff Hooper, Bubba Schill and Molly Wickwire-Sante.

Ken Ludwig is a student of the history of theater and film and he applies that knowledge deftly in “Fox.” We find the ABCs of comedy: grand deception, manipulation, surprise, plus improbable and extravagant situations and buffoonery, more key elements of farce. There are references to Shakespeare, Restoration comedy, the Marx Brothers, even TV sitcoms. “Fox” is a tale of greed, love, and rank stupidity couched in physical hijinks. In other words, good, (mostly) clean family entertainment.

Some critics sprinkle exclamation points like pepper when describing “Fox”:

“A grand slam…a joy to behold!,” Washington City Paper
“Farce raised to an art!, “ The Home-News Tribune
“A belly laugh marathon! An amazingly ingenious satirical farce,” Showbizradio.net

“Fox on the Fairway” takes place in the shaded confines of the pinky-up Quail Valley Country Club. Bingham, president of Quail Valley, finds himself in a difficult situation. He recently discovered that the ace golfer he had scheduled to play for his club tournament was recruited by the opposing team, and now he is in jeopardy of losing the huge bet he wagered. Fortunately, Bingham discovers  a new employee who is actually quite good at the game and finagles his nomination into the tournament. All hell breaks loose when the weather turns ugly, Bingham’s player gets injured, and his wife catches him canoodling with his sex-starved vice-president. Can Bingham find a replacement to win the game, win the wager, and get his wife (and life) back in order?
Getting there is half the fun.
Tee Hee.

To learn more, watch this interview with Ken Ludwig:

(Note: “Fox” suggests a whole lot more than it reveals, however, the dialog is heavy with blue-tinted innuendo. Parental discretion is advised for this PG-13-rated comedy.)