review - THE RED VELVET CAKE WAR - TheaterWorks

Tina Khalil, Shelly Boucher, and Jacque Arend
Photo by Carly Weekley

highlights from local critics reviews - (click link at bottom of each review to read complete review)

Click here for more information on this production that runs through November 11th.

"Playwrights Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope, and Jamie Wooten have crafted a fairly successful career out of their series of fun comedies that center on eccentric southern characters. While their The Red Velvet Cake War may not be as well constructed as some of their other comedies, TheaterWorks' production features a cast who throw themselves into these wacky and outrageous characters with glee, including Jacque Arend who is superb as the frazzled Gaynelle Verdeen Bodeen....Jones, Hope and Wooten have come up with a fun and fast-paced plot with some very funny moments, but the silly sitcom style and over the top characters threaten to derail it at times. Fortunately, director Dominik Rebilas keeps the pace brisk and the comedy in check; in spite of it being broad, it never gets too unbelievable or out of control....With an urgency in her line delivery and a rich Southern accent that resembles a young Holly Hunter at times, Jacque Arend has the right level of spunkiness and uncertainty to provide plenty of layers in her portrayal of the troubled Gaynelle. She also has expert comic timing and a deep sense of tenacity. Arend beautifully evokes this fragile, crazed and unpredictable woman who is at wit's end. Shelly Boucher and Tina Khalil are hilarious, with humorous line delivery and good comic chips, as her two cousins...The Red Velvet Cake War is an absurd, screwball comedy featuring outrageous characters and outlandish situations. It may not be a perfect comedy, but with a game cast and fast-paced direction, TheaterWorks' production sure shows it can be a lot of fun......... " -Gil Benbrook, Talkin' Broadway (click here to read the complete review)