Classic farce 'Wives' is fluffy, not stuffy
By Sally Carpenter sallyc@theacorn.com

Watching Conejo Players' "Whose Wives Are They Anyway?" reminded me of the Three Musketeers bar I munched on during intermission: fluffy, not stuffy. It's an enjoyable evening's entertainment, not too taxing on the brain but good for many laughs.

The show played out like the "Wedding Party" episode of the TV show "Fawlty Towers," in which British hotel manager Basil Fawlty erroneously suspects immoral behavior among his guests.

In "Wives," Mrs. Carlson (Camille La Fredo), the manager of the Oakfield Golf and Country Club in New England, likewise thinks something funny is going on with guests John Baker (Jim Diderrich) and David McGachen (Michael Maiello).

The similarity is probably more than accidental. "Wives" playwright Michael Parker was born and raised in England and eventually moved to Florida where he found that traditional British farces don't play well to American audiences. He then began a successful career writing farces specifically for American theater.

"Wives" follows the formula of the standard British sex farce: mistaken identities, lots of running around and slamming doors, the dizzy blond girl, a guy in drag, plenty of innuendo but no action, and a thin plot full of chuckles. What motivates the play is the uptight English attitude about sex as modeled by moral crusader Mary Whitehouse who attempted to clean up the British airwaves.

Baker and McGachen are two executives out to enjoy a weekend of golf while their wives shop in New York City. At the hotel they unexpectedly bump into their new company president, D.L. Hutchinson (Judy Weaver Diderrich) who expects her employees to spend weekends with their spouses. By

6 o'clock that night Baker and McGachen must find "wives" to meet the boss or they'll lose their jobs.

McGachen persuades his pal to dress up as "Mrs. McGachen," who recruits the hotel receptionist, Tina (Dawn Meyer), as his spouse. Complications arise as Baker slips in and out of the wife disguise and Tina becomes increasingly soused on champagne.

Characters keep overhearing and misunderstanding conversations, leading to suspicions of naughty behavior. Mrs. Carlson thinks the men are wife swappers and she sneaks around to catch them in the act. The hotel phones are also on the fritz and calls for horse racing bets keep coming in.

To make matters worse, the real wives (Christian Danielle and Sheryl McDonald) arrive just in time to hear that their husbands have other women in their rooms.

Maiello is fine in his role, and Jim Diderrich is especially funny as the reluctant "wife," although how his "disguise" could fool anyone is a mystery. Meyer shines in Act 2 when she's "drunk" and falling about.

Bob Artz is a comic gem as Wilson, the club's notsohandyman. His response to any guest service request is to moan about his numerous health problems. His attempts to fix the phones lead to more problems. His response to the allegations of sexual behavior is a shrug and an "I don't believe it!"

The cast's biggest laughs come from the well-rehearsed physical antics (especially when Jim Diderrich and Maiello deal

with the tipsy Meyer) and the characters falling into unintended compromising positions. I also liked the party line conversations with four characters trying to talk on different phones at once.

Dayne V. Jervis designed the attractive and functional twolevel set with the lobby, reception desk and two rooms. The action flows quickly and smoothly among and between the rooms.

Just a few quibbles: La Fredo could have pushed her Mrs. Carlson to be more domineering and prudish. I'd like Danielle's

Mrs. McGachen to be more "mousy." The women's wigs looked unnatural, or was that intentional?

At times the script lags and gets a little repetitive, plus the ending wrapped things up too quickly, but it's a pleasant show with plenty to laugh about.

"Whose Wives are They Anyway?" continues Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. through Dec. 9 with a 2 p.m. matinee on Dec. 3 only.

The theater is at 351 S. Moorpark Road, Thousand Oaks. For tickets, call (805) 495-3715.