Brokaw: ‘Nana’s Knickers’ reveal sheer laughter
August 5, 2015 by admin
Filed under Lingerie Events
“Nana’s Naughty Knickers,” on stage through mid-September at Conklin’s Barn II Dinner Theatre, should have a great run. An enthusiastic and packed opening night audience was delighted with this madcap farce, full of misunderstandings, gags and the Barn II’s signature style of comedy.
Right at the center – where Barn II patrons want her – is the amazing Mary Simon.
Shes directs and also plays Sylvia, an 83-year-old widow running a business that produces and sells senior citizen lingerie. Sylvia runs Saucy Slips, Etc. out of her rent-controlled apartment in New York City. The apartment is tricked out with Prohibition-era secret compartments, all the better to hide her lacy delights.
Trouble starts when Bridget (April Bieschke) comes to spend her summer before law school with Nana Sylvia. She no sooner arrives than Sylvia rushes in with her sidekick/business partner Vera (Lana Warner) in tow.
Despite comic struggles with her walker and hearing aid, Lana is determined to help keep policeman Tom (John Johnson) and meanie landlord Gil (Pat Gaik) from discovering everything that’s going on.
Gil wants to kick Sylvia out of the apartment so he can charge more for it. Tom develops a crush on Bridget. Things really heat up when some shipments get switched and Heather (Diann Thompson) shows up looking for the packages meant for Saucy Lips, Etc.
Sylvia’s biggest client Clair (Maria Lane) is next through the door, providing a huge surprise.
Everyone plays his or her part to the hilt. Warner is especially funny with her physical comedy and Bieschke, the ingénue, is a sheer delight. She’s very pre-law when she arrives; appalled at all the regulations her Nana is breaking. But before long they suck her into the madness and she’s modeling senior lingerie and swilling vodka from a bottle.
Bieschke also designed the set, which looks very humdrum at the top of the show and soon begins getting laughs all on its own.
If you’re after a relaxing night, book a table at the Barn II, drive through ripening fields, enjoy the nice folks who come out for these shows, and have some good laughs.
The Barn II folks make it all look easy, but comedy and line delivery in their clear style is anything but easy. Still, don’t worry about that part. Just enjoy!
