‘See How They Run’ at Riverland
Published 8:49 am Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Andrew Torkelson, who plays Clive, and Kaylin Wolf, playing Penelope, rehearse a scene for the Riverland presentation of "See How They Run," which opens tonight at Frank W. Bridges Theatre. - Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com
Riverland Director Jerry Girton will come full circle this week, when the college theater program presents “See How They Run,” the first play Girton ever put on.
“See How They Run,” a comedy set in the United Kingdom post-World War II, involves intrigue, missing identities, foreign spies, plot coincidences and mass confusion, many of the elements of a traditional farce.
Victoria Torkelson, playing Ida, rehearses a scene with brother Andrew Torkelson playing Clive from the play "See How They Run," which begins its run at Frank W. Bridges Theatre. - Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com
“We haven’t really done a traditional farce in a long time,” said Girton. Girton knows the piece well, as it was his very first directorial production in Walnut Grove High School in 1973.
The play centers around a British vicar and his wife, who unexpectedly receive several houseguests one day, including a complaining neighbor, a prestigious bishop, a fellow preacher, an American soldier and a Russian spy. While the jokes fly, confusion ensues as each character misunderstands the other.
“Everything kind of goes chaotic in a very funny way,” Girton said.
“See How They Run” will run Wednesday through Sunday this week, with 7:30 p.m. performances Wednesday through Saturday and a 2 p.m. performance on Sunday. Tickets are $12 and available at the Coffee House on Main and the Riverland Box Office, as well as at the door.
