theatre review - INSPECTING CAROL - Fountain Hills Theater - December 7, 2017

Diane Senffner, Henry Male, Janine Smith, and Leslie Haddad
photo by Larry Moyse

Click here for more information on this production that runs through December 23rd.

"There are most likely hundreds, if not thousands, of productions of A Christmas Carol running in cities across the country this month. In 1991, the Seattle Repertory Theatre and their Artistic Director Daniel Sullivan created a humorous spoof of this holiday classic with Inspecting Carol. Fountain Hills Theater's production features a talented cast who throw themselves into the hijinks and tomfoolery of the zany plot, though the play itself is only mildly amusing. The plot focuses on a theatre company that is facing financial issues. Their subscription renewals are only at 50 percent, and their $30,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts is in jeopardy. ....When an amateur actor named Wayne...is mistaken for the government inspector it ratchets up the hijinks with the company members falling over themselves to impress Wayne in the hopes of securing the NEA grant.
With several repetitive moments that aren't that funny, some jokes that don't pay off, and a few characters that are only two-dimensional, the inconsistent script leaves a bit to be desired. The ending is also completely predictable. Fortunately, director Peter Hill does a fairly good job with a cast who do a good job in bringing some life to the lifeless script. The fact that most of the cast also play the same roles their characters play in Fountain Hills' production of A Christmas Carol, which runs in repertory with Inspector Carol, adds an added bit of lunacy. Janine Smith does well as Zorah, the head of the theatre company who is trying her best to hold things together. Hill is great as Larry, the egotistical actor who plays Scrooge and believes the show needs modern updates (the previous year, Larry recited his lines in Spanish to try to make the show more contemporary). Leslie Haddad is a hoot as the feisty stage manager MJ and, when it's decided to drop the British accents from the show, Diane Senffner's comic timing and the changing American accents she uses are hilarious, in her portrayal of the British actress who also serves as the show within the show's dialect coach. ...Inspecting Carol may not have the continual relevance of the classic story it spoofs, and the script isn't the greatest, but with a good cast and direction, Fountain Hills' production provides a decent amount of laughs.. " -Gil Benbrook, Talkin' Broadway (click here to read the complete review)