Theatre Palisades Does ‘Holiday Drama’ with Familial Comedy

By GABRIELLA BOCK | Reporter

Booming bursts of laughter reverberated around Pierson Playhouse as Theatre Palisades’ fall production of “In-laws, Outlaws, and Other People (That Should Be Shot)” opened on Friday, Nov. 3.

Directed by Ria Parody Erlich, “In-laws” is a modern comedy that tells the truth about the holidays: If it weren’t for the presents and the Christmas ham, we’d never see our families.

The show opens in the contemporary dining room of Beth and her father—known to the audience simply as “Dad”—as the two scurry around in preparation for Christmas Eve dinner.

Beth, a quick-witted and sarcastic teenager (as most of them are) played brilliantly by Tessa Marts, is complaining to her father (as most of them do) about the incoming swarm of extended family members set to arrive at any minute.

Providing the pragmatic and sensible counterpart to Marts’ sassy candor is Jonathan Fahn, who stars as the play’s good natured patriarch. When coupled together, the two create a believable onstage dynamic reminiscent of father-daughter relationships everywhere.

When learning that mother Janet (Terri Parks) is snowed in at a Vermont airport, the duo must work together to solve problems that only mom—or Google—will know the right answers to, including more pressing matters such as figuring out what and where the meat thermometer is and, more importantly, “At what temperature does salmonella thrive?”

As the two attempt to avoid poisoning their dinner guests, the clock creeps closer to 6 p.m. and soon the family circle widens—much to the chagrin of Beth—with the arrival of Aunt Rose (Sue Hardie) and Uncle Leo (Mitch Feinstein).

Both equally hilarious in their performances, Hardie and Feinstein garnered big laughs as the cantankerous older couple who’ve been together for far too long.

Soon after settling in, the family’s New Jersey extension of Bunny (Laura Goldstein), Bud (Andrew Margolin) and their beloved daughter Tracy (Sierra Laurin Parsons) arrive in loud holiday sweaters as an even louder Bud—who Beth refers to as a “redneck”—makes himself a little too comfortable in the living room.

The evening progresses like many holidays past: Bunny brags about Tracy’s academic accomplishments, and Bud carries on about his devotion to the NRA. Aunt Rose and Uncle Leo bicker about events that happened 40 years ago, while Beth dishes out a hefty serving of side eye to each of her guests.

That is until a surprise knock on the door reveals two gun-wielding bandits—Tony, played by Eric Pierce, and Vinny, played by Cruz Flores—who forcefully make themselves at home in Beth and Dad’s suburban abode.

On the run after robbing a store, Tony and Vinny unintentionally become close acquaintances with the family they’ve taken hostage, a plot move that provides the play with side-splitting antics and laugh-out-loud moments to boot.

Unaware of the situation at hand, Paul Wakowski—the blue-haired, anarchist boy next door played by Jeff Dewitt—drops by to deliver a present to Beth.

Seeking their lost relative, Paul’s sister Emily, played by Hayley Dixon, and later their mother (Lois Bostwick) come to find him. They both, of course, become hostages as well.

As more impromptu guests continue to pile into the family home, our bandits soon realize that their lawlessness has spurred a bit more chaos than expected when nosey neighbor Mrs. Draper (Darcy Silveira) takes it upon herself to try and save the day.

Also starring Price Johnson as Officer Henley, this riotous comedy by Steve Franco will leave you feeling grateful to be a part of your own crazy family and not the one on stage.

“In-laws, Outlaws, and Other People (That Should Be Shot)” runs every Friday and Saturday evening, with a Sunday matinee, until Dec. 10. Tickets are available at theatrepalisades.org.