Wanzie’s Ladies of Eola High Seas
Wanzie’s Ladies of Eola High Seas
By Michael Wanzie
Directed by Kenny Howard
Florida Theatrical Association
The Abby, Orlando, FL</strong>
Michael Wanzie’s usual flamboyance and silliness slides into a darker story line tonight; and this installment of the “Eola Heights” series is arguably his best. Sisters Pearl (Beth Marshall) and Opal (Peg O’Keef) squabble; Opal is a Mary Kay megastar while Pearl has a thing about the poker table. Their third sister Ruby (Blue Star) married the family head shrink Dr. Burrows (Kevin Kelly) and soon they are adrift on a Disney cruise and things head downhill rapidly. Ruby and the doctor are on the outs; he’s in love with everything Disney and is a creepy Kid That Never Grew Up. Ruby is annoyed at him and the world in general as Pearl jones for a lotto ticket; Opal just laughs everything off with another umbrella drink. It’s just normal Eola family dysfunction until the not-so-good doctor makes a slip and we learn that even on a Disney Cruise there’s a brig down there somewhere. Best of all: when things get too serious with the sisters the versatile Sam Singhaus appears as every Disney female lead from Snow White to Cruella De Vil. He actually gets the best numbers; all those years of lip-syncing pay off tonight. If you see the show and don’t get all the jokes that just means you’ve never sailed on a mouse infested boat, and neither have I. But even with all these inside gags there’s enough solid acting and storytelling to float anyone’s boat.
For other events at The Abbey, visit http://abbeyorlando.com
</em>
