Past Reviews

Regional Reviews: Washington, D.C.

Hay Fever
Olney Theatre Center


Chris Dinolfo, Valerie Leonard, and Audrey Bertaux
Noël Coward's "comedy of bad manners" Hay Fever has entertained and pleased audiences since its premiere in 1925. The stylish production now at Olney Theatre Center, located in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, makes clear why it is still performed after 90 years: people behaving badly in a theatrical way is always fun, especially when the actors and director participate in the excesses.

The laughs begin before the actors even appear with John Coyne's scenic design, which incorporates theatrical posters, antlers, a tambourine, sports equipment, untidy stacks of books everywhere, even a taxidermied ostrich. This is the English country home of Judith Bliss (Valerie Leonard), a great lady of the stage; her husband David (Matt Sullivan), a novelist; son Simon (Chris Dinolfo), an aspiring artist; and daughter Sorel (Audrey Bertaux), an outrageous "bright young thing" in London society.

The Blisses drive each other crazy with their histrionics and bizarrely out-of-context pronouncements, and they are horrified to discover that each of them—unknown to the others—has invited a guest for the same weekend. Sandy Tyrell (Jon Hudson Odom) is a young athlete besotted with Judith; Myra Arundel (Beth Hylton), a calculating divorcee whom Simon loves; Richard Greatham (Michael Russotto), a pompous "diplomatist" who has caught Sorel's eye; and Jackie Coryton (Susan Lynskey), a rather vapid flapper whom David has invited "for research purposes" because he wants to base a character on her.

Director Eleanor Holdridge has worked with her actors to cultivate the hothouse atmosphere of the Bliss family in all its eccentricities. (Where will the squeeze-bulb horn turn up next?) Sorel periodically complains about the lack of manners and her desire to be a wholesome, out-of-doors kind of young woman, but that's all part of the pose; when faced with the outside world, the Blisses stand together.

Leonard commands the attention whenever she appears, whether kicking off a pair of galoshes or spontaneously going into character, but all four family members bring a heightened intensity to every line. Interestingly, Russotto and Lynskey have appeared opposite each other in the past, so they have a rapport that has nothing to do with their characters.

Olney Theatre Center
Hay Fever
September 2nd - 27th
By Noël Coward
Sorel Bliss: Audrey Bertaux
Simon Bliss: Chris Dinolfo
Clara: Carol Randolph
Judith Bliss: Valerie Leonard
David Bliss: Matt Sullivan
Sandy Tyrell: Jon Hudson Odom
Myra Arundel: Beth Hylton
Richard Greatham: Michael Russotto
Jackie Coryton: Susan Lynskey
Directed by Eleanor Holdridge
2001 Olney-Sandy Spring Road
Olney, MD
Ticket Information: 301-924-3400 or www.olneytheatre.org


Photo: Stan Barouh