Laugh, set in the Silent Film era of the 1920’s, is a love letter to pratfalls and props, to double-takes and dreams of Hollywood and striking it rich.
And pies in the face.
Helen Cespedes plays Mabel, a rube who would be right at home in a vintage Mountain Dew commercial. Her character will take the Rags-To-Riches arc in the most literal way, starting off as a smudge-faced urchin who, through a comically staged dynamite accident, becomes the heiress to a load of money. Later, she’ll become a movie star with an exotic accent. But that’s much later.
Sent to live with her conniving, gold-digging Aunt (Emily Townley, always brave enough to let it all hang out when appropriate, is hilarious as Aunt Octobra Defoliant) Mabel is unwittingly being set up with her cousin Roscoe, in hopes of keeping her fortune “in the family.”
The bumbling, butterfly chasing Roscoe is played with surprising poignancy by Creed Garnick, channeling an interesting mix of Forrest Gump, Stan Laurel and Tom Hulce.
Please Read The Review and View The Slide Show At: http://www.examiner.com/review/theatre-review-laugh-at-studio-theatre