Cactus Flower Review

Civic's 'Cactus' has sharp humor

Bright production brings '60s comedy to life on stage

Friday, April 20, 2007
BY JENN MCKEE News Arts Writer
When you get a gift that's all wrong for you, someone always reminds you that it's the thought that counts.

But sometimes, doesn't the gift's very inappropriateness reveal a lack of thought? And isn't that disappointment what makes your heart sink?

Certainly that's young Toni's (Heather Wing) reaction when she gets a matronly mink stole from her considerably older, dentist boyfriend, Julian (Larry Rusinsky), in the Ann Arbor Civic Theatre's production of Abe Burrows' "Cactus Flower.'' Julian also lies to Toni about having a wife, in order to stave off a serious commitment. But when he finally decides he does want to marry her, Toni insists on meeting his wife, so Julian asks his prim nurse Stephanie (Kathleen Beardmore) to play the role.

"Cactus'' is one puppy of a 60s comedy - so fluffy, cute, and endearing that you overlook its little drawbacks. Civic's minor opening night gaffes were often technical in nature: music played in the record store (where Toni works) drowned out one of Beardmore's key speeches; actors in the store scenes sometimes moved outside the light; Julian's office's set-up felt odd (with Stephanie's back to the door); and an otherwise fun, if perhaps overdone, running gag with go-go dancing scene-changers faltered during full dance numbers, when more uniformity of movement would have created a sharper stage picture.

But again, this is a puppy-show, so these tiny flaws were no match for the bright spirit, clever humor, and flower-power look of "Cactus.''

Wing wisely makes Toni naive but not a ditz, and similarly, Beardmore makes Stephanie not a rigid, frigid robot, but a woman unaware of what she's missing.

Considerable credit also goes to director Cassie Mann, who keeps the show's energy consistently high throughout it's nearly three hour run-time.

"Cactus Flower'' continues at 8 tonight and Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sunday at Washtenaw Community College's Towsley Auditorium, 4800 E. Huron River Drive, Ann Arbor. Tickets: $20 ($17 for students and seniors). For tickets, call 734-971-2228 or visit www.a2ct.org.