Last Thursday night, before another rehearsal for Marathon Community Theatre’s latest production, the political comedy “The Outsider,” the cast and crew were hanging out. Their laughter echoed throughout the performance space. Indeed, their repartee is so fast and furious, it’s hard for casual observers to keep up.
“We are making googly eyes, and someone interrupts us,” said one actor to describe a scene.
“Bow chicka wow wow,” joked another. Cue booming laughter.
Clearly, the players and stage crew involved in “The Outsider” production just love being around each other. And that energy bubbles up in every scene.
“I love this group,” said Claudia McEwen, who is the self-described “makeup lady” for “The Outsider.” She is also a retired pediatrician, longtime Marathon resident and a theater lover. She has been a part of MCT since 1981.
“I think it’s topical and timely. Look at the political situation we’re in,” McEwen said with a shrug.
Jennifer Powell is the director of “The Outsider,” which is by playwright Paul Slade Smith. This is Powell’s second mainstage production as director, though she has been a member of MCT since 2010. “I’ve done everything except run lights,” she said.
The MCT board approached her to helm the production of “The Outsider,” so she read the play. “I thought it was funny,” she said about her decision to take on the job. “The humor appeals to you. It’s about the governor of a small state. A previous governor left because of a scandal, but the new governor is shy. You would never think this governor would succeed, but a political hotshot thinks it’s his dream candidate — the goofy governor.”
“Jennifer just doesn’t have an ego as a director,” said actor Alex Rickert, who plays the “political hotshot” Arthur Vance. (Full disclosure: Rickert is the fearless editorial leader of Marathon Weekly.) “She’s probably the most collaborative director that I’ve ever worked with. Sometimes that can be challenging on her end when you have a cast with a lot of experience and opinions, but she does an incredible job balancing it.”
Rickert wants potential audience members to know that they won’t have a politically divisive night, even though the play is about, well, politics. It’s a rollicking comedy to take your mind off your troubles for a while.
“They’re not going to see something that goes after one side or another,” he said.
But back to that Thursday night rehearsal. The cast is posing for a photo shoot and they ham it up for photographer Larry Benvenuti, who laughs and clicks away. At one point, the actors run a scene that has a lot of comic movement so Benvenuti gets a dynamic shot (we don’t want to spoil the plot and reveal what the scene is about; rest assured, it’s fun). Brian Witte, who plays the hapless chief of staff Dave Riley, is supposed to curl into a fetal position in pained reaction to some news. But he can’t resist: He slides into a faux-pinup pose, with one hand propping up his head and legs stretched out, a huge smile on his face. The cast breaks up.
“We laugh too much,” said Terry Israel, who plays reporter Rachel Parsons. “This is a great ensemble cast. It’s been an experience seeing each individual grow into their character.” MCT is always looking for other members, whether they be stage crew or actors. For more information, go to marathontheater.org, where readers can also purchase tickets for “The Outsider” at $28 each. Showtimes: March 24, 25, 26, 31 at 8 p.m.; April 7, 8, 9, 14, 15, 16 at 8 p.m., with a 3 p.m. matinee on Sunday, April 10, 2022. The theater is located at 5101 Overseas Hwy., Marathon. Box office phone number: 305-743-0994.
