Theatre Review: Sock ‘n’ Buskin’s FOOLS is a Laugh Riot

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Mr. Neil Schleifer

Junior Athena Woodfin (l) and Senior Jack Hopkins (r) pray that the curse of stupidity will be lifted.

Eliza Bratone, Freshman

The Odd Couple, Brighton Beach Memoirs, and Lost in Yonkers — all classic comedies written by the William Shakespeare of the modern age of theatre, Neil Simon. Squashed between Pulitzer Prize winner Simon’s many productions is an unconventional comedy dubbed Fools. Fools premiered on Broadway in 1981, but didn’t last very long. Rumor has it that, the show folded quickly as a result of issues in Simon’s personal life. In spite of this, he still wrote a delightful little comedy about a small town in Russia just prior to the turn of the twentieth century. The village, known as Kulyenchikov, has been struck down with a curse — the curse of stupidity. And who better to lift the curse than an equally unlikely hero: an eager, optimistic young teacher. Our own theater company, Sock ‘n’ Buskin brought this play to life on stage in mid-November

The curse of Kulyenchikov can only be broken if members of two families, the Zubritskys and the Youskevitches, marry. However, young Sophia (junior Maggie Solimine) refuses to marry the evil Count Gregor (junior Sam Rodd), thus dooming the village to a lifetime of foolishness. When a school teacher, Leon Tolchinsky (senior Will Shelton) arrives in the village, summoned by Sophia’s parents (senior Jack Hopkins and junior Athena Woodfin) to tutor Sophia Zubritsky, he is surprised by how outlandishly dull-witted Sophia truly is. Despite this, he quickly falls in love with her and is determined to break the curse and release her and the rest of the town’s residents from the scourge of foolishness. The residents include a shepherd who can’t find his sheep (senior Quinn Humphrey), a vendor who doesn’t know the difference between a bouquet of flowers and a basket of fish (senior Sarah Cullen), a postman who can never find the right address to deliver his letters (sophomore Arthur O’Sullivan), and a butcher who wears a necklace made of sausages, yet can’t figure out why he can never make a sale (senior Nick Wessman).

I’ll admit, my hopes for Fools were not very high given the history of the show, yet the cast delivered a spectacular show, and I was surprised by how much I laughed. Maggie Solomine’s performance had most of the theater in stitches with her portrayal of the incredibly stupid Sophia. Everyone laughed when she struggled to accomplish even the simplest of tasks, such as sitting down or finding her way to her room. Will Shelton as Leon beautifully played his frustration and confusion with the antics in Kulyenchikov. His unwavering love and devotion to Sophia was both sweet and hilarious. Athena Woodfin and Jack Hopkins were hilariously oblivious as the Zubritskys, displaying expert comic timing Sam Rodd as Count Gregor, stole the show with his reflections to the audience. He truly was a villain you loved to hate. Additional supporting characters such as the mailman (sophomore Arthur O’Sullivan), the butcher (senior Nick Wessman), vendor (senior Sarah Cullen), added an extra touch of lunacy to the show, and Jack Finegan as the world oldest policeman made a hilarious three-act play from the simple act of stepping up onto a box

The storybook set and colorful costumes added to the atmosphere, and Mr. Beck & Mr. Schleifer’s direction kept things moving at a fast pace. Overall, Sock ‘n’ Buskin’s Fools was a fantastic show, one of which the cast and crew should be incredibly proud.