A romance between a guy a girl. The two families of the young couple on opposite ends of the social scene. Sounds like a familiar story, but in the Pulitzer-Prize winning play “You Can’t Take It With You,” George Kaufman and Moss Hart add a new comedic dimension to an otherwise ancient tale.
The play, presented by The Nicholls Players, opens tonight in Talbot Theater and runs until Sunday.
“The play is very entertaining. It’s a play with some exaggeration in character and a few outrageous antics. In one scene, everyone in the house is arrested by the FBI because the father and some of his friends are making fireworks in the basement. It’s those kind of things that make the play funny and delightful,” Stanley Coleman, theater director, said.
The plot centers around Alice (Joan Dubis, elementary education senior from Thibodaux) and Tony (Blaine Peltier, freshman from Franklin).
Set in the 1930s, just after the Great Depression, Alice and Tony find themselves madly in love and want their families to get together for dinner so they can announce their engagement.
However, Alice’s family, ruled by the patriarch Grandfather Vanderhof (Josh Arceneaux, freshman from Thibodaux) believes that people are individually talented, and life has more to offer than money.
Tony’s family is an affluent and wealthy family controlled by their love of money.
When Tony’s family comes over to meet Alice’s, they accidentally show up on the wrong night and are amazed at what kind of activities they find Alice’s family doing.
“The people in Alice’s house each have their own `hobbies’,” Coleman said. “One person paints, one person plays the xylophone, another person throws darts, one feeds snakes and another makes candy.”
Tony’s family cannot understand how people can do what they want to with no regard for financial gain.
“In the play, you see what it’s like for people to be motivated by materialism. But then you see the other side when people after the Depression wanted to believe there was some relief and escape from the harsh world around them,” Coleman said.
Although the play deals with life after the Great Depression, the central theme of finding happiness in life prevails in every time period.
“The message is still true and poignant today,” Coleman said. “Individual freedom and expression must be reckoned with. The feeling of this play carries across decades.”
Although the actors performing the play experienced some difficulty emulating the hair styles and dress of the late 1930s, they did not allow historical accuracy to overtake the main theme of the play.
“The story is about making the most of your life while you have it,” Coleman said. “It’s not about living for material successes, but for the zest, fun and happiness that life can provide. That message comes across throughout the show.”
The show opens tonight at 7:30 p.m. and runs through Saturday, with a matinee performance at 3 p.m. Sunday.
Tickets are $10 for general admission and $5 for students.
