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BY SOFIA PINEDO-PADOCH

In print | Published April 6, 2006

The Monday before the show opens, the cast of “Lucky Stiff,” this semester’s LPAC mainstage musical, gathers in the dressing room to prepare for rehearsal. Erik Saka ‘09, who plays Luigi, a “crazy Italian guy,” stands up in a deep purple shirt and allows his hair to be slicked back tightly with product. Bill Welsh ’08 puts on a pair of paisley silk pajamas with a dark wiry wig, and becomes the deceased Uncle Anthony. “They say acting is reacting,” Welsh says, "but my character is pure acting because he can’t react." Scott Birney ‘06, who plays Vinny, the shy optometrist, combs his hair into a side part and inspects his short moustache in the mirror. Over on the girls’ side, Sasha Shahidi ‘09 secures her high-waisted bellboy’s pants and Judy Browngoehl ’09 slips her arms into a floor-length crushed velvet robe, glamorously swaying as she walks. All of this is done amidst good humor and conversation, the room full of excitement.

“Lucky Stiff,” directed by Laura Holzman ‘06 and produced by Phil Katz ’07, is a story about money, death and sexy French maids. Harry Witherspoon, played by Evan Buxbaum ’06, has a boring life as a shoe salesman in London. One day, Harry’s Uncle Anthony dies and leaves him a large inheritance. There is a catch. Harry must take his Uncle Anthony to Monte Carlo for the good time Anthony has always dreamed of. If Harry does not comply, all the money must go to the Universal Dog Home, Uncle Anthony’s favorite charity.

For Harry, this is no easy task. In Monte Carlo, he fights with Annabelle Glick (played by Cara Arcuni ‘09), the head of Universal Dog Home, for the inheritance. To further complicate matters, Rita, Uncle Anthony’s trophy wife who shot him, also, as Holzman puts it, “wants her dough.” Vinny, Rita’s optometrist brother and victim of his sister’s embezzling scheme, follows along as well. Monte Carlo is full of sexy French nightclub singers (Dominique, played by Browngoehl), and sexy French maid (Anne Kolker ‘08), making their time in Monte Carlo all the more fun. How does the story of the corpse turn out? Does Harry get the money? You’ll just have to see the musical to find out.

This is a first collaboration between Holzman and Katz. Holzman is an art history major who is directing at Swarthmore for the first time. “I did some directing in high school,” Holzman says, “and it’s nice to come back to it.” Katz has not produced a show before, but is well versed in the theater, and the role feels natural to him. “Laura has a picture of the show in her mind” Katz said. “We help get that across to the audience.”

Because she is an art student, Holzman admits that “there is a lot of look [in the show]. The set was really important.” A spectacularly set piece painted by Caitlin Butler ’06 graces the stage, announcing the location, “Hotel de Paris.”

In addition to this, Holzman and Katz used extra money in thier budget to hire Susan Smythe, the former director of the Lang Performing Arts Center, to design costumes for the show. Many of the characters slink around in spectacular dresses and even nun’s habits. “Lucky Stiff” is visually very striking indeed.

Actors in “Lucky Stiff” have used various strategies for getting into character. In order to play Harry Witherspoon, the “shy-ish downtrodden shoe salesman,” Buxbaum said dryly, “I hung around in my closet a lot.” He also noted the difficulty of mastering a British accent.

Browngoehl, who plays three characters in the musical, easily took on the role of the French nightclub singer. “In order to become Dominique,” she wrote, “I just put on my ridiculous 4-inch heels, and I am ready to conquer the world one man at a time! Sadly, in my real life, I do not often have the opportunity to belt songs in the middle of my personal spotlight while wearing a flowing dress.” All of the actors seemed similarly excited to play their eccentric characters, and even gossiped about them backstage. “Do you think Annabelle is a virgin?” Kolker asked Arcuni. Arcuni responded “No. She had a bad sexual experience in college.”

Several actors very passionately praised the crew of the musical for making the show happen. Mark Loria, the music director, drew distinct accolades. Shahidi said, “Mark is a machine.”

“Mark is God,” Arcuni said, echoing Shahidi’s effusive acclaim for Loria.

The cast of Lucky Stiff seems to be uniformly happy about their involvement in the musical. “It’s been ridiculously fun,” Kolker said.

“It’s a privilege to be a part of it right before graduation,” Birney said.

“I think Lucky Stiff is a great musical,” Browngoehl said. “The premise itself is just so bizarre — who would have thought to make a musical about a dead body in Monte Carlo?”

“Lucky Stiff” will play in LPAC Thursday, April 6 at 8 p.m., Friday, April 7 at 4 p.m. and Saturday, April 8 at 6 p.m.

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