Lakeside Players Kick Off 10th Year with ‘Brit-com’ Fawlty Towers

The British are coming! The British are coming! And they’re here to help The Lakeside Players celebrate their 10th anniversary.

The community theater company, founded in the spring of 1999, will kick off its 10th year with two episodes of the madcap British sitcom Fawlty Towers on April 4, 5, 6, 11, 12, and 13 at Lakeville Community Hall, Rt. 590, Lakeville (across from Caesars Cove Haven). Friday and Saturday performances are at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday matinees are at 3 p.m. All tickets are $12. For information and reservations, call 226-6207.

A Few Words about Fawlty Towers

Written in the 1970s by John Cleese and Connie Booth (of Monty Python fame), Fawlty Towers is the most popular British sit-com of all time. Although only 12 episodes were written, the show is still running on PBS channels. All 12 episodes were recently made available for stage, and Lakeside is excited to be presenting two of them, “Waldorf Salad,” and “The Hotel Inspectors.”

Director Roxan Schwartz said: “I’ve been a huge fan of Fawlty Towers for many years, and now I have the privilege of directing two episodes. This being my directorial debut, it’s all very exciting for me!”

Fawlty Towers takes place in an English country inn that rates “no stars” for bad food and worse service. Pompous, frenzied innkeeper Basil Fawlty isn’t indifferent to his guests; he’s absolutely abusive to them. His over-coiffured wife Sybil wears the pants in the family and rarely lifts a finger around the inn, preferring to talk on the phone or chat with the guests. Other characters include Manuel, a Spanish waiter who barely speaks English; Polly, a steadfast waitress and the voice of reason at the inn; and a steady stream of bewildered, mistreated guests.

“Waldorf Salad” features an American couple, the Hamiltons, who arrive late and demand dinner even though the chef has left for the night. To keep them happy, Basil attempts to cook the dinner himself, staging an elaborate (and hilarious) charade to convince the Hamiltons that the chef is actually doing the cooking. In “The Hotel Inspectors,” two-faced Basil alternately abuses and fawns over guests when he hears that three hotel inspectors are making the rounds. The action revolves around Basil’s absurd dealings with Mr. Hutchison, who may or may not be one of the inspectors.

In both episodes, the food is late, the orders get switched, the prawns are “off,” the wine is undrinkable, and guests are moved from one table to another as Manuel, who can’t read or speak English, tries to sort things out. There’s no such thing as a quiet dinner for two at Fawlty Towers – pandemonium rules!

The cast includes Frank DeSando as Basil, Roxan Schwartz as Sybil, Tony Schwartz as Mr. Hutchinson and Mr. Arrad, Marty Courtney and Diane Altmann as the Hamiltons, Eleanor Gwyn-Jones as Polly, Sam Corey as Terry the cook, Kent Corey as Manuel, Aleta Kahn and Bob Kolvick-Campbell as the Johnstones, Marylou Ambrose as Mrs. Arrad, and Paul Podolsky as Mr. Libson and Mr. Walt.

Lakeside’s 10th Anniversary

The Lakeside Players were founded in 1999 by Tony Schwartz and Marylou Ambrose. In 2001, the players found a permanent home at Lakeville Community Hall, where they continue to perform today, presenting plays every spring and fall. The group also recently acquired a second main stage venue – Community Hall in Union Dale, and plays first performed in Lakeville then go “on the road” to this location.

In the last 10 years, Lakeside has performed 20 main stage productions, from comedies to dramas, in Lakeville and Union Dale. A few favorites include The Odd Couple (female version), The Cemetery Club, and On Golden Pond. Lakeside has won numerous acting and technical awards from the Northeastern Pennsylvania Theatrical Alliance. They have also been awarded several grants from the Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts.

Besides Lakeville and Union Dale, The Lakeside Players also perform regularly at Ehrhardt’s Waterfront on Lake Wallenpaupack, entertaining senior bus groups. This spring and summer, Lakeside will also be performing at a new venue, the Radisson Hotel in Scranton.

The Lakeside Players also perform original, audience-participation murder mysteries in restaurants, country clubs, church halls, senior centers, and other venues around northeast Pennsylvania. Schwartz and Ambrose have written a dozen murder mysteries, which they also sell online. The shows have been produced by numerous theater companies in the United States and abroad. The group’s flagship show is Trouble at the Tropicabana, an I Love Lucy spoof. A few other titles include Murder on the Oriental Rug (an Agatha Christie spoof), Murder at the Tonylou Awards, and Dealt a Deadly Hand: Murder at the Pocono Royale Casino. The duo is currently writing a murder mystery to be performed aboard the Stourbridge Line train this August.

“We’re proud of what The Lakeside Players have accomplished in the last 10 years,” co-founder Tony Schwartz said. “We continue to look for new challenges, new show ideas, new venues – and of course, new actors and actresses. Give us a call if you want to act, even if you’ve never been onstage before.”

For more information on The Lakeside Players, including a schedule of shows and how to order murder mystery scripts, visit www.lakesideplayers.net.