By STU CLAMPITT
news@readthereporter.com
Photo provided by Main Street Productions
Mistaken identity. A play within a play. High holiday comedy. That’s a little of what Main Street Productions (MSP) has in store for audiences this week when Inspecting Carol hits the stage at Basile Westfield Playhouse, 220 N. Union St.
According to Director Kelly Keller, Inspecting Carol is the story of a professional theater company that has been performing the same show for Christmas for years: A Christmas Carol. They’ve been slowly losing money and think an inspector from the NEA, the National Endowment for the Arts, is coming over to see if they qualify for a grant.
“They mistake an aspiring actor for the inspector,” Keller told The Reporter. “During all of that, there’s the normal mistaken identity comedy that comes from not getting the right person. Finally the real inspector shows up and they’re in the middle of doing the play with feedback from this guy who didn’t know anything and who gave them a whole bunch of bad advice, so they’re doing a terrible play when the real inspector shows up.”
To bring this to life, MSP has built a set of a playhouse that built a set.
“Our audience will be watching an audience watching a play,” Keller said. “The [MSP] board said, ‘We don’t want the same thing that’s done every single year. Can you find something a little bit different?’ I’ve done a couple of Christmas shows that are off the beaten path. I found this by looking around. It appealed to me because it requires a bigger stage, and Westfield has a pretty big stage. I couldn’t do it like one of the smaller theaters in town.”
According to Keller, this parody of A Christmas Carol has crazy characters and a lot of different types of comedy in it.
“It’s got some slapstick,” Keller said. “It’s got some topical humor in it. I really thought it was a nice change of pace. It’s not one of those stories that beat you over the head with the message. It’s really more about the comedy. And then there’s a subtle kind of, ‘this group is a family.’ So it’s a subtle play on, ‘Hey, there’s this crazy group of people together as a family trying to get something done.’ I call it a parody of A Christmas Carol with a twist.”
Inspecting Carol stages Nov. 30 through Dec. 10. Thursday, Friday and Saturday shows are at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday shows are at 2:30 p.m. Go to WestfieldPlayhouse.org/showstickets or call (317) 402-3341 for tickets.
“Hold me back, fellas! I’m about to act the heck right out of this Christmas Carol parody/play-within-a-play/comedy thrill-ride extravaganza of funny!” (Photo provided by Main Street Productions)