"Whether you’ve seen the musical, the movie or neither one, you’re going to love the TGAM twist on this Victor Hugo classic. Why sit for three hours when we can pare down this epic show to 80 minutes with way more comedy plus give you a vaudeville revue too! With song parodies and tons of laughs you’re bound to leave the theater with a whole new “take” on this classic story."

--americanmelodrama.com

Imagine a 1980s ski movie transported to an immaculate golf course.

There’s a beloved institution on the skids. A tough tournament at stake. And when the ragtag band of misfits battles the proud preppies, you can bet a young man will prove his worth, a young woman will pledge her love and a bully will get his comeuppance by the time the end credits roll.

Ken Ludwig’s “The Fox on the Fairway” might be considerably more sophisticated than, say, “Hot Dog … The Movie,” but it shares the same love of silly sound effects, wacky characters and outrageous coincidences.

Penned by the playwright behind “Lend Me a Tenor” and directed by Eric Hoit, this hilarious hole-in-one comedy runs through March 10 at the Great American Melodrama in Oceano.

It’s the morning of the big Inter-Club Championship between the Quail Valley Country Club and its longtime rival, Crouching Squirrel, and club director Henry Bingham (Billy Breed) is feeling good.

After five years of losing to Crouching Squirrel, his club finally has a secret weapon: a new member with an unbeatable game. Bingham is so confident of his success that he strikes a wager with his Crouching Squirrel counterpart, Dickie Bell (DJ Canaday), a delightfully self-absorbed snob with a yen for outrageous golf sweaters. 

If Quail Valley wins, Bell will cough up $200,000. But if Bingham loses, he’ll have to hand over $100,000 and the deed to his wife Muriel’s antique shop, Ye Olde Crock. And Muriel (Jacqueline Hildebrand), a miniature martinet with the social graces of a drill sergeant, is no woman to trifle with. 

Unfortunately, Bingham’s star player has just joined Crouching Squirrel. Board member Pamela Peabody (Crystal Davidson) brings more bad news. If Quail Valley loses, Bingham is out of a job. 

Luckily, Bingham’s new assistant, Justin (Philip David Black), who just got engaged to taproom barmaid Louise (Bethany Rowe), happens to be a superb golfer — when he keeps his cool. 

Vowing to fire Justin if he loses, Bingham enters him in the tournament. Now, if only the gawky goofball can remain calm enough to play the perfect game. 

Advertised as a tribute to the great English farces of the 1930s and ’40s, “The Fox on the Fairway” has all the hallmarks of a classic madcap comedy: mistaken identities, slamming doors and zany plots twists involving a missing engagement ring, an expensive antique vase and a case of hysterical blindness. 

Watching Breed’s woebegone Bingham trade barbs with Canaday’s conniving Bell is sheer fun, although Hildebrand comes dangerously close to stealing the scene as the howling, scowling Muriel. Davidson brings an engaging earthiness to her role as Pamela, and Black and Rowe are sweet as the young lovers. 

Still, nothing can top the post-play recap, which finds the cast reenacting the plot of “The Fox and the Fairway” at full speed. It’s a fun, fast-paced scene that’s almost as exhausting to watch as it much be to perform. 

Performances of “The Fox on the Fairway” are paired with “A Starry, Starry Night Vaudeville Revue,” created by Canaday, Melodrama producing artistic director Nova Cunningham, actor Alex Sheets and music director Sarah Wussow. The cast establishes its stellar theme in an opening medley that includes star-studded Broadway ballads, swinging classics and Top 40 pop songs. 

There’s a calypso version of Perry Como’s “Catch a Falling Star,” an all-kazoo salute to John Philip Sousa’s “Stars and Stripes Forever” and a “Family Feud” parody that pits “Star Wars” characters Darth Vader, Princess Leia and Chewbacca against three “Star Trek” officers. 

But the revue’s biggest hit is a recurring sketch about a barista (Bethany Edlund) at Starstrucks Coffee, “where stars go for a cup of Joe.” You can almost see her patience fraying as she deals with demanding customers like Julie Andrews (Davidson), Bugs Bunny (Breed) and Jim Carrey (Canaday).

--Sarah Linn (The Tribune Feb, 11, 2013)

The latest performance at the Great American Melodrama in Oceano, “The Fox on the Fairway” comes from a prolific playwright, Ken Ludwig. Writer of the Tony nominated “Lend Me A Tenor” in 1989 and best musical Tony winner, “Crazy For You” in 1992, Ludwig pays tribute to the old English farces from the 1920s and 30, with “The Fox on the Fairway.”

Featuring a very maniacal cast of six and deftly directed by Eric Hoit, “The Fox on the Fairway” is a funny and well-written comedy. There are terrific and very funny lines throughout the play as well as some physical mayhem throughout.

“The Fox on the Fairway” tells the story of Bingham, the director of the Quail Valley Country Club. There is a big inter-club tournament coming up and Bingham feels he has a great chance at finally winning against his nemesis from the opposing country club, Dickie.

Bingham is played by longtime Melodrama vet Billy Breed, and he is funny as the desperate club director. D.J. Canaday is hilarious as the showy Dickie, who has several personal ties to Bingham. His wardrobe, dug up by costume designer Renee Van Niel, takes on a life of its own with some of the loudest and outrageous sweaters since “The Bill Cosby Show.”

The two make a large bet before Bingham finds out his ringer has traded sides and now plays for Dickie.

Bingham finds a new player, his brand new assistant Justin, played by Philip David Black. Justin is in love with the club’s Tap Room waitress, Louise (Bethany Rowe), and proposes. Aiding Bingham is the club vice-president Pamela (Crystal Davidson). She has a few secrets to tell that eventually surface.

Rounding out the cast is Jacqueline Hildebrand as Muriel, Bingham’s crazed and overbearing wife. In a short-cropped wig and mannish mannerisms, Hildebrand is hysterical as an unhinged bully in a pint-sized package.

Everyone in the cast has secrets, which are slowly revealed throughout the action as everyone involved tries to finish the tournament and straighten out all of their predicaments.

Black is outstanding as the neurotic Justin and Rowe is extremely funny as the emotionally unstable fiancee Louise. And Rowe is outstanding, especially in the physical moments.

The set design by Brian Williams is nicely laid out, allowing for all of the physical chaos that ensues.

There are several physical moments that are fun and wacky throughout and they are well choreographed by the director Hoit, a former artistic director at the Melodrama.

The final scene of the play, recapping the story, is simply brilliant and hysterical.

The vaudeville review that follows is called “A Starry, Starry Night Vaudeville Review,” and was conceived and directed as a team with Canaday, Artistic Director Nova Cunningham, Alex Sheets and musical director Sarah Wussow. It features a pair of actors not in the main play, Sheets and Bethany Edlund.

The review takes a look at the stars in the skies as well as stars on the stage and screen. There are several funny moments from each of the cast members with some celebrity impressions and nice musical moments. And who won’t like a group performance with kazoos?

Overall, the evening was entertaining and satisfying with talented performers getting a chance to shine.


-- Brad Memberto (Santa Maria Times, Feb. 1st, 2013)