Big cast for a classic

‘You Can’t Take It With You’ to play for three weekends

SOAP LAKE — The story of an eccentric family and its collision with a stuffy family — think fireworks and a visit from the cops — comes to the Masquers stage beginning Feb. 14. “You Can’t Take It With You” runs three weekends through March 1.

The curtain rises on the Friday and Saturday shows at 7:30 p.m., with Sunday matinée performances at 2 p.m.

“I loved the theme of it,” said director Carrie Rutherford. The play is about not taking things too seriously, making time for family and friends, and time for some fun, she said. “It checked all the boxes for me.”

She had never read it or even heard of it before she started researching options to pitch to the Masquers board, she said. “I just fell in love with it.”

Alice Sycamore (Cecily Hendricks in the Masquers production) is like thousands of other girls in 1938 New York, holding down an office job, dating the nice guy from work, But, Tony Kirby (Lui Navarro) is more than just a nice guy — he’s the boss’s son, and the boss (Nick Mahaney) is downright stuffy.

Alice’s family, on the other hand, is a little crazy. Well, maybe a lot crazy. Grandpa Vanderhof (Bob Jasmin) has a little money but keeps getting pestering letters from the U.S. government, something about delinquent income taxes. Alice’s mom, Penny (Jessica Hogge), writes trashy but popular novels, and her dad, Paul (Greg Becker), makes fireworks in the basement.

Alice’s sister Essie (Emma Russell) has had no luck with her dance career — probably because she’s so bad at it — so she makes candy on the side, delivered by her husband, Ed (Andrew Covarrubias). Ed has a printing set and likes to add little notes to the candy boxes, silly things he hears on the street. He honestly didn’t mean to threaten the president.

“You Can’t Take It With You” was written by the legendary Broadway team of Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman, who didn’t cut any slack for non-Broadway companies and actors.

“It’s challenging,” Rutherford said. “It’s a demanding play.”

The set is one room — but what a room, stuffed with the furniture, flotsam and jetsam of a half-century. And it’s not like the stage crew could go out and rent a lot of 1930s-era furniture. So the company has borrowed furniture from local residents for the duration of the play. “That was so helpful,” Rutherford said.

For a story that takes place in one room, it’s a big cast. “There are literally 20 characters in this play.”

The cast has been forced to adapt as rehearsals have evolved, and all that furniture has been moved, sometimes more than once. “I have to hand it to my actors,” Rutherford said. “They’ve had to be very flexible.”

Tickets are $12 to $16 and can be purchased at the Masquers website, www.masquers.com.

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at education@columbiabasinherald.com.