Comedy in the house

Published 12:21 am Friday, November 11, 2011

Call it a comedy of errors that’s worth repeating.

For the second time in its history, the Way Off Broadway Players will stage “One O’clock from the House,” by the United Kingdom playwright Frank Vickery.

The cast takes to the boards at 8 p.m. Nov. 17, Nov. 18 and Nov. 19 at The Theatre on Pamlico Street in Belhaven.

The players first presented this comedy some years ago with Northside High School students as the cast, said director George Wahab, a retired Northside drama teacher.

This audience-pleaser was worth bringing back for further exploration, Wahab indicated.

“It’s the reactions of a family and the bickering after the father dies,” he said. “There’s a lot of sarcasm.”

“This comedy is centered on three sisters, who are fighting over their inheritance, after their father dies,” reads a synopsis provided by Wahab. “There is also the problem with their deranged sister, Mavis, and there is their cousin Mansel, whose dog died. To add to the confusion there is cousin Tudor who just doesn’t ‘get anything.’ And his lovely wife doesn’t seem to have but two brain cells. A will would straighten everything out, but each sister has a will saying something different. ”

The cast and crew are Mary Wahab, Kate Anderson, Dean Armstrong, LLoyd Ballance, Lindsey Duke, Leanna Holmes, Zachary Stevens, Mandy Robbins, Aaron Stevens, Ed Blancett, Maggie Anderson, Gabby Allen and George Wahab.
Mary Wahab portrays Miriam, the youngest of four daughters left behind by the late father.

Miriam has a contentious relationship with her husband, played by Armstrong.

The twosome engages in sniping sessions, but Miriam’s sisters also make worthy sparring partners.

“This play is a play of words,” Mary Wahab said, adding the cast is putting those words in motion onstage.