Red Curtain Rivalry
by Amy Lytle
Directed by Chris Kernan
Tesseract Theatre Company
July 8, 2023

Alora Marguerite, Nic Tayborn, Chrissie Watkins, Beth Knocke
Photo by Taylor Gruenloh
Tesseract Theatre Company
The Tesseract Theatre Company’s Summer New Play Festival is back for 2023, starting off with a comedy that has a lot of potential. Red Curtain Rivalry has a premise that should be relatable to many who are involved in theatre, and it features some fun characters and situations. It’s not without its issues that need work, but for the most part, it makes for a fun evening of theatre “in-jokes” and humorous characterizations.
The premise is that two community theatres in the same town–the Essence, led by director Yolanda (Dorothy LaBounty), and the W led by Gareth (Kurt Knoedelseder)–have discovered that they are both doing the same play at the same time. As the theatres are across the street from one another and are long-time rivals, drawing from the same pool of local actors, this scheduling creates a series of problems, and as the saying goes, hilarity ensues. The central figures are longtime best friends Ronnie (Luis Aguilar)–a veteran performer at both theatres–and Penelope (Chrisse Watkins), who has recently returned to town from New York City, and who hasn’t done theatre since high school. When Ronnie persuades Penelope to audition for both productions of A Doll’s House: The Musical, she finds herself cast in one production in the same role as former high school friend and community theatre diva Clarissa (Beth Knocke) in the other production. The directors, who notoriously hate each other, strike up an agreement about a competition of sorts among the productions, expecting that the show’s licensing representative, Judy (Tammy O’Donnell) will be on board with their plan. Then, rehearsals get going, including a series of complications involving personality conflicts, old grudges, and parental expectations as Clarissa’s father young daughter, Willow (Chloe Kurzym) is also cast along with her mother and grandfather, Herbert (Will Shaw); and exasperated single father Chester (Nic Tayborn) struggles to deal with his bratty, would-be prima donna daughter, Missy (Alora Marguerite). There’s also a running gag involving local prankster Arthur (Gerry Love), who is cast in one of the shows and who seems intent on causing as much chaos as possible.
This play has a fun premise, with a good deal of humorous moments and some memorable characters, although there may be too many plots to keep track of efficiently. Also, the preponderance of plots leads to a “wrapping up the loose ends” conclusion that comes across as forced. Still, there’s a lot of potential here, and there are some strong performances, especially from Watkins as the reluctant but talented Penelope and Knocke, who brings a welcome degree of nuance to the initially insufferable Clarissa. Aguilar as the somewhat arrogant but well-meaning Ronnie, Love as the mischievous Arthur, and LaBounty and Knoedelseder as the battling directors also have some strong moments, as does Tayborn as Chester, and O’Donnell–who makes the most of a relatively small part as Judy. Kurzym and Marguerite are also credible as two very different young performers, and Shaw does what he can with a small role as Herbert.
The staging lends much humor to the proceedings, with good pacing and inventive use of the red-curtain-lined set pieces that are used to fun comic effect, as well as near identical set pieces for the play-within-a-play scenes. The set is designed by Brittanie Gunn and Taylor Gruenloh, with lighting by Erin Riley. The technical aspects of the show are fairly basic, but they work well in terms of versatility and service to the plot.
Overall, Red Curtain Rivalry doesn’t do a lot that’s “new” in terms of comedies about theatre, but it’s a fun idea and the performances entertain. There’s a whole lot going on that could be streamlined, perhaps, and the ending needs some work. Still it’s an enjoyable show with an enthusiastic cast, and it’s sure to bring up some relatable memories to anyone who has been involved in community theatre.
Tesseract Theatre Company is presenting Red Curtain Rivalry at the Marcelle Theatre until July 16, 2023