Comedy Classic Doesn’t Stand the Test of Timing

After all these years, you would expect George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart’s 1936 Pulitzer Prize-winning “You Can’t Take It With You” to be foolproof, with all the tricks of getting it right handed down from production to production.

Not so. The Kaufman-Hart sendup of liberalism in the late Depression, which chronicles the adventures of Grandpa Vanderhof and his wayward family, seems to be a tough nut to crack. Take, for instance, the current revival at La Habra Depot Theatre.

Most of the play is as light as a souffle. Grandpa’s daughter Penny continues to write bad plays on an old typewriter that was delivered by mistake eight years ago. Her husband, Paul, spends his days in the basement inventing fireworks with Mr. De Pinna, an iceman who came to deliver ice and never left. Her daughter Essie plods heavily through ballet lessons, while Essie’s husband Ed plunks on a xylophone and prints anything that comes to hand on his printing press. It was the era of the madcap comedy.

There are some very valid performances in this production, which haven’t been given much attention by director Diane Christensen. Becky Startup’s Penny is delightful, as is John Townsend as her distracted husband. Loni Welton as Essie is quite as vague, on or off toe, as she should be, and Shane Bavis as her dim bulb of a spouse has an urgency that is often funny.

Rick Hardgrove, when he calms down, has a nice bemused quality as Grandpa Vanderhof, but too often is inclined to declaim his lines rather than speak them naturally. Stu Eriksen overacts his Russian ballet teacher Kolenkhov, as Victoria Von Roth over-overacts her Grand Duchess Olga. But both seem restrained next to Emihlie Wells’ vastly out-sized actress Gay Wellington, whose drunkenness here is neither funny nor real.

Nick Cook and Patricia Rambo are far better, being at least slightly restrained as daughter Alice’s boss, Mr. Kirby, and his wife.

*

The best performances of the evening, played honestly and seriously, and therefore hitting all the right notes, are those of Rebecca Doubledee as Alice and Eric Lammerman as Tony, the Kirby’s rebelling son. Also notable are Valerie Walker as Rheba the maid, and Mark Pierce as her boyfriend Donald. Both play their stereotypes with intelligence. And Pierce, in particular, is very funny.

Even these performances just barely escape Christensen’s utter lack of timing throughout the production, in a comedy that sparkles when the tempos are right. There are pauses between some of the cues that would allow the audience to walk up to Whittier Boulevard for a soda.

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* “You Can’t Take It With You,” La Habra Depot Theatre, 311 S. Euclid St., La Habra. Fridays-Saturdays, 8 p.m. Ends June 12. $12. (562) 696-1720. Running time: 2 hours, 15 minutes.

Becky Startup: Penny Sycamore

Loni Welton: Essie

John Townsend: Paul Sycamore

David Van Patten: Mr. De Pinna

Shane Bavis: Ed

Rick Hardgrove: Grandpa Vanderhof

Rebecca Doubledee: Alice

Eric Lammerman: Tony Kirby

Stu Eriksen: Boris Kolenkhov

Nick Cook: Mr. Kirby

Patricia Rambo: Mrs. Kirby

Emihlie Wells: Gay Wellington

Victoria Van Roth: Grand Duchess Olga Katrina

Valerie Walker: Rheba

Mark Pierce: Donald

A La Habra Depot Theatre revival of George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart’s comedy. Producers: Jean Blackwood and Chris Montgomery. Director: Diane Christensen. Scenic design: John Nokes. Costumers: Kathy Busby. Lighting design: Technical Creations. Choreography: Emihlie Wells. Stage manager: Charlie Del Muro.