This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Nov 21, 2011 - If you think YOUR family vacations are crazy, you haven't met the Hollanders. In Parkway Central's production of "Don't Drink the Water," an innocent family vacation to communist Europe goes wrong when the family has to seek sanctuary at the American Embassy - a stay complete with bombs, romance and impersonations of the Sultan of Bashir.
"Don't Drink the Water" was written by the American actor, director, screenwriter, comedian, musician and playwright, Woody Allen. Premiering on Broadway on Nov. 17, 1966, "Don't Drink the Water" was Allen's first professionally produced play. This show is set in an embassy in an unnamed European country behind the Iron Curtain. An eccentric family of tourists from New Jersey - Marion and Walter Hollander, and their daughter Susan (Greta Rosenstock) - find themselves stuck at the embassy after they were mistaken for spies. There they meet a host of interesting characters, including a crazy chef (Mathew Greenbaum), a nun seeking sanctuary, the ambassador's stuck-up assistant Kilroy, and Axel Magee (Jack Connolly), who is the son of the ambassador and temporarily in charge of the embassy.
The cast of this show did an amazing job bringing life and humor to Woody Allen's rather colorful characters. The actors and actresses did an impressive job producing fully fledged characters, with consistent accents and mannerisms. They maintained the high energy necessary to produce a hilarious farce, but some scenes lacked the sense of urgency needed to sell their predicament.
Carly Pinder played Sister Drobney, who served as the show's narrator and also provided much humor and excitement. Whether performing magic tricks for the audience during intermission or struggling out of a strait jacket, she never failed to make the audience laugh. Kilroy was played by Alex Tash, who commanded the stage with his tremendous energy and added humor to his role as the bossy assistant, especially during his hilarious dialogue with a brick.
Jake Bronstein and Samantha Zucker shined in their roles as Mr. and Mrs. Hollander and played off one another excellently, always making the audience laugh with their wild, crazy and, at times, adorable banter.
This performance was enhanced by the brilliant work done by the building and backstage crews. The make-up mistress, Brook Stauffer, provided very realistic age make-up for Sister Drobney, Ambassador MaGee, and Mr. and Mrs. Hollander and the costume mistresses Julia Connolly and Kate Hogan provided fun and time-appropriate costumes for all of the performers, including a ridiculous parrot-printed tourist shirt for Mr. Hollander, pretty classy dresses for Susan, and nice silk robes for the sultan. The set crew, headed by Nick Bible, pulled off a beautiful and ambitious set complete with a gorgeous mural of the view from the embassy done by Emily Walters.
The cast and crew of Parkway Central's production of "Don't Drink the Water" deserve many rounds of applause for their hard work and success in pulling off this hilarious, shocking and feel-good show.
About the Cappies
The Critics and Awards Program for high school theater -- known as Cappies -- was formed in the aftermath of the Columbine shooting to celebrate writing and performing arts at America's high schools. It operates chapters across the nation.
St. Louis' program was launched in 2002-03.
At the end of the year, the top performers, technicians and reviewers are honored during a Tony-style gala.
The Beacon is happy to help spread the word by printing some reviews.
Tally Portnoi is a student at Mary Institute St. Louis Country Day School.