In the theater world, there is nothing as difficult to pull off as farce. By definition, a farce is a “comic dramatic piece that uses highly improbably situations, stereotyped characters, extravagant exaggeration, and violent horseplay.” Michael Parker’s Hotbed Hotel (1992) is a quintessential example of stage farce, satisfying each of those aspects, with frenetic activity that doesn’t let up. Conejo Players Theatre is accustomed to staging farces; memorable productions in its history include Noises Off, Is He Dead? and Reefer Madness. Though not as sharply written as other farces, Hotbed Hotel satisfies one’s farcical itch through its broadly drawn characters, outrageous situations, and non-stop on-stage activity, directed with a sure hand by Kimberly Demmary. The problem with Hotbed Hotel is not in its casting, but in its script. The frenetic nature of farce prevents one from nodding off during the show, but at the performance I attended, there was barely a chuckle in the audience. True farce usually results in cascading waves of laughter, but in this production, the audience merely sat there, patiently watching and waiting for the next looney thing to happen. None of this should reflect on Demmary’s casting, however, which features nine impeccable performers who keenly understand their characters’ unique roles in the show.
The story is tidier than the activity suggests; farce usually is much more complex than this, but anyone can follow the plot of this play, even if they entered the theater twenty minutes late. Terry and Brian Cody run a small one-star hotel in the Florida Keys resort of Turtle Beach and are hoping to sell it to anyone willing to pay the price. Their one prospect is New Yorker Sam Lewis, but with only one tenant on hand, the stereotypically British Major Ponsenby, they hope to convince Lewis that the hotel is busier than it really is. To do this, they decide to have Terry and the hotel staff masquerade as paying guests. The problem is that they only have two people on staff: dim-bulb housemaid Maureen and tippling maintenance man Hopkins. When Lewis arrives with his sexy mistress Ashley in tow, feathers fly, especially when Hayley Harringon, a predatory nymphomaniac known as “The Barracuda” shows up.

Cassie Kelso-Bucey plays Terry, who may be the most sensible person of the bunch, whose job is to ensure that her hair-on-fire husband Brian (Drew Orlando) tows the line at every juncture. Brian is in a constant state of panic, with five-alarm bells ringing in his head over every misstep, pratfall, and slammed door. Durable character actor Larry Swartz is perfectly cast as Hopkins, lurching from one side of the hotel to the other, taking nips from strategically concealed flasks of booze that are planted in convenient vestibules such as planters and decanters. Catie Allo is adorable as the dumb-as-a-rock bubblehead Maureen, who is enlisted by the Codys to be the receptionist, maid, and room service clerk. The ditzy Maureen feels it is necessary to change uniforms every time she is called to perform a different duty, which helps contribute to the overall confusion. Jeff Ham plays Major Ponsonby, using every British cliché in the book, from his pip-pip-cheerio demeanor to calling everyone “old chap.” Ham also plays a mysterious Arab guest named Abdul El Hajj, however his ostensibly Middle-Eastern accent sounds more like that of a German scientist.
Don McGreevy plays it straight as Sam Lewis, a sensible businessman whose cover falls apart immediately when he somehow ends up in the same bed as the Major and Hopkins. As “The Barracuda,” Christine Cummings gives the impression of a giant transvestite (and wouldn’t that have been a delicious plot twist?); her physical size and more-than-ample proportions dwarfing her targets, which only makes her ravenous sexual appetite even funnier. Cummings sashays around like Mae West, deliberately overplaying her part, and it’s too bad she isn’t given more to do by the playwright. As Ashley, Brian Bauer prances around for most of the play clad only in a towel, but has some funny moments of her own, while the always dependable Judy Diderrich is wonderful, making her appearance late in the play as Lewis’ actual shrewish wife, adding flammable fuel to the farcical fire. All she needs is a rolling pin to complete the image.

Farce requires sturdy sets with lots of sturdy doors and Rick Steinberg heads up the construction team that came up with the solid, utilitarian set. Hotbed Hotel is produced by Elena Mills with Patrick Rogers assistant directing.
The audience is put in the position of assuming the urgency the characters feel in their respective goals, but there really isn’t much to be had. The players try very hard but deliver very few big laugh lines. This kind of a farce demands a constant state of hysteria, which it has, but despite all the rushing around, tumbling into bed and slamming doors, it never really develops any momentum, which is surprising since the cast’s split-second timing is perfectly executed with no let-up. The disappointing script is all there is that keeps this production from being a wire-to-wire laugh fest. Still, as Major Ponsonby states many times, Hotbed Hotel remains a “jolly good show,” even if it doesn’t put its audience into its aisles.
Hotbed Hotel plays through February 1 at the Conejo Players Theatre. For tickets, visit www.ConejoPlayers.org or call (805) 495-3715.
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