There’s something for everybody to love in Santa Maria Civic Theatre’s latest production, the comedy Everybody Loves Opal, by John Patrick.
The title character (Clare Terrill) is an old eccentric who collects and sells junk. The action takes place in her dilapidated, isolated, old house, which sits next to a garbage dump.
The attention to detail in the set of her living room is astounding (design by Valerie Pallai and Don Schuettee). Strewn about the floor are various discarded treasures and bundles and bundles of newspapers. There’s also chewed-on furniture, shelves lined with old-time cans and tins, and (most memorably) old teabags hanging on a clothesline strung across the wall. We can see that even more junk on the floor above is weighing down a sagging section of ceiling, held up by a single, crooked beam. Just by glancing around, we get to know Opal’s character before she even steps onstage. When she does so, she’s wearing multiple coats and a hat that comes down so low it covers her face, and she’s hauling a little red wagon of assorted junk behind her. When puttering around the house, she wears a dirty old pair of overalls, and has a tendency to hum a meandering little tune, occasionally singing the word “driftwood!” Her only company is a cat named Mr. Tanner (played amusingly by what appears to be a Fur-Real Friend toy).
The plot arrives in the form of a trio of two-bit crooks: ditzy Gloria (Valerie Pallai), alcoholic intellectual Bradford (Erik Chavez), and sleazy ringleader Solomon (Michael Parsley). Gloria is reminiscent of a darker version of Ellen Greene’s character from Little Shop of Horrors. Pallai infuses lines like “Ten thouuuuusand dolllllars” with a great giddy greed. Chavez’s Bradford has a bitter, biting wit that’s both hilarious and appropriately unsettling. And Parsley is just right as the boss who tries to keep them both under control.
Initially, all they want from Opal is to buy some used bottles for their perfume bootlegging racket. However, they soon decide there’s more money to be made by insuring the elderly woman and then bumping her off. They rent a room in the house and await the opportunity to make an “accident” happen. Opal, meanwhile, remains blissfully unaware of her new “friends’” scheming. The play becomes a battle between Opal’s optimism and their cynicism.
But the crooks aren’t the only ones driven up the wall by Opal’s cheery disposition. She’s visited by an uptight insurance doctor, played by Richard Dresp. In one of the show’s funniest routines, he grows ever more exasperated as she relentlessly attempts to make him “comfortable” and slips away from answering the exam questions to tell bizarre anecdotes. Dresp got so into his role, he actually began to grow red in the face.
“Have you ever been in a sanitarium or institution?” he asks her.
“No,” she replies.
“Are you sure?” he responds in disbelief.
Speaking of which, the plot occasionally requires some suspension of disbelief, and can get a tad repetitive, but the characters do undergo a transformation as the show goes on. Also, Terrill’s Opal—who is indeed lovable—keeps us interested. We don’t want any harm to come to her, so we’re constantly keeping an eye out for her. Among other unusual activities, Terrill (who is a very good sport) also gets wheeled all around the stage on a utility dolly.
Joseph Koltez appears as a police officer friend of Opal’s, serving to raise the dramatic tension and further establish Opal as a sweet, caring character.
While it’s easy to focus on the humor—from the silly to the macabre—there’s a more emotional side to the piece, too. Opal’s back story has some dark patches, and her longing for companionship is touching. The crooks show their desperation and despair. Pallai’s Gloria has some particularly heartbreaking moments later on in the show.
The director—SMCT regular Schuettee—manages to balance the different tones of the show smoothly. His production is brisk paced and continuously entertaining.
Pay Opal a visit—before somebody does her in.
Note: The program lists alternate cast members for the roles of Solomon (Phil Epstien), Gloria (Gaye Thiel), and the pivotal main role of Opal (Nancy Kunishige). Presumably these performers take on the roles in some performances.
Brent Parker always manages to balance different tones of his story smoothly. He can be contacted through Arts Editor Shelly Cone atscone@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in May 5-12, 2010.