Santa Maria Civic Theatre wraps up its season with a few good laughs with Ed Simpson’s The Battle of Shallowford. Directed by Richard Dresp, the production fuses a slice-of-life look at the small town of Shallowford, N.C., and its residents, who live through the chaos following the broadcast of The War of the Worlds by Orson Welles.
The play excellently develops the characters, and there’s no better word to describe them: “characters.” The entire play takes place in Mock’s General Store on Oct. 30, 1938, where daughter Ruthie Mock, played by Sarah Leavenworth (Beka Castillo also shares this role), straightens up the shop while listening to Benny Goodman, and Burton Mock (Bill Kirkpatrick) readies for his Sunday evening get together with the guys.
Burton Mock convinces himself he’s content in Shallowford and tries to convince his daughter she is, too. Ruthie Mock, however, is intent on finding out about the world outside, but is aware of her father’s fear that she’ll leave him.
The audience gets a clearer picture of just how small-town Shallowford is when the locals convene at Mock’s General Store. In walks Clunette Campbell, played by Jim Dahmen (Gary Prober also shares this role) with all his whining about his wife, Hitler, and just about everyone in town. Clunette sits down at the table and starts raving: “That crazy Hitler guy, those crazy Japanese folks, those crazy stock market guys, what’s this world coming to?”
“The older I get, the less I seem to know what’s happening,” he laments.
Roy Sprinkle, played by Bradley Nations, comes in to get his dose of picking on Clunette, something he says he lives for. Roy, an injured veteran, warns against the fascination with technology like radios and television and airplanes, explaining that radios tell people where to drop the mustard gas, cars have a way of becoming cannons, and surmising, “I’m not afraid of gadgets; we’ll always have them. I just wish we could invent better people.”
The chemistry between the three men—Burton Mock, Roy, and Clunette—is undeniably funny, with each taking turns outwitting the others. The actors’ timing is impeccable, producing a series of laugh-out-loud moments.
On opening night, however, Dahmen clearly stole the show with his version of the simple, good ol’ boy Clunette.
The townsfolk also include Newsome Jarvis (Ray Ruiz) and Doodad Jarvis (Rene Lopez); the two are the town’s strangest characters. Then there’s the polished and refined Fred Martin (David Pera), whom Burton says “doesn’t have all his hormones.” Then there’s football hero Dewey Sowers (Westley Kossuth), who tries to woo the uninterested Ruthie Mock. Kossuth gives a great turn as Sowers, bragging about his football injuries while Ruthie rolls her eyes and turns her attention to his friend Lonny Hutchins (Paul Chavez and Griffin Crawford).
Lonny’s head is in the clouds, and townsfolk call him “looney” because of his interest in science fiction and what the future holds. Yet his ideas plant a seed in the minds of the Shallowford townsfolk, setting the stage for a major mix up. Mistaking the War of the Worlds broadcast as a real-life alien invasion, the citizens of Shallowford take up arms and unite to fight the invasion.
The battle is less than climactic, but what is significant is the town’s realizations about the world around them—as well as their own little world in the town of Shallowford.
This play is a lighthearted, yet poignant slice of life, full of lively characters and lots of laughs. The entire cast expertly delivers.
Arts Editor Shelly Cone likes her slice of life with whipped cream. She can be contacted at scone@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in May 3-10, 2012.