PERRY — Lucky Stiff, a lesser known musical by the writing team of Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, is gracing the stage at Heritage Theatre in Perry Utah for their first show of 2025. Directed by Amber and Spot Beecher, the show opened off-Broadway in 1988, and has played in the West End in London, but has never had a Broadway run. It is a musical farce with murder, a Greek chorus, and a lot of zany interactions that are expected with such a production. Because I am a large fan of the writing team, and love to experience shows I have never seen before, I was excited to go to Heritage and experience the production.
While the show was rather simple in relation to set design by Spot Beecher and Jess Tarbet and costumes by Amber Beecher, the premise and design were rather charming. Many of the set pieces were panels painted to look like optical offices, airplane seats, or shoe stores. While these were not majorly expensive or elaborate, they were well done and gave strong images for the audience. One of the best scenic palates was the design of the train, which was well laid out and visually interesting.
Lucky Stiff plays at Heritage Theatre through February 1, 2025. | Photo: Shae Wright.
The story follows Harry Witherspoon, played by Quin Geilman, as he goes on an adventure designed by his late uncle, Tony Hendon, played by Darin W. Draper, to have the weekend of a lifetime while bringing along his uncle’s body that has been preserved by a taxidermist. If this story sounds rather absurd, well, yes, it is, however, this fun farce is meant to be just that, jovial and, well, quirky. Beecher’s costumes added to the quirky feel starting with the opening number, Something Funny’s Going On, where we could see that each of the characters had been dressed well to match their personality. Many of the ensemble members had costumes that added a more personal design to characters that might not have a named persona, but throughout acting and characterization lead to high interest.
Geilman has a golden voice, and that voice is used well throughout the show. From the beginning motif of Good to Be Alive to more silly moments like Dog vs You, it was simply a pleasure to listen to Geilman. When Nicole Frederick was added to the story as Annabel Glick, the musicality and humor grew. My personal favorite song of the evening was Times Like This, where her character’s love of animals echoed my own and the clever lyrics mixed with Fredrick’s musical talents made me smile.
Photo Credit: Shae Wright
Draper was extremely impressive playing a dead man. Before this evening I confess I have not put much thought into one’s capability of portraying a dead, taxidermed person for an entire production, but now I cannot get it out of my head. Draper’s ability to be limp, physically manipulated by the people around him, and not react to humor or interruptions is commendable.
Rita La Porta, played by Ashlee Giblette, and Vinnie DiRuzzio, played by Dallin Patton, added a lot to the comedic action. Rita’s costumes and her eye glasses were my favorite. The subtle jokes that were used between this brother and sister character duo were quite amusing, and Patton and Giblette were very skilled at playing off each other. Adding in Troy Hone as Luigi Gaudi, a character with a fun twist at the end, rounded out the main players nicely.
The ensemble of this show played many different roles, and their ability to switch costumes, characters, and motivations at the literal drop of the hat was an excellent reminder of the best part of good community theatre. In my day job, I am often reminded of all of the difficult, traumatic, and negative things we face in life. I confess that I gravitate to those type of shows as my chosen favorites. However, watching the people at Heritage put on Lucky Stiff was a great reminder to me that sometimes a light-hearted farce is exactly what we need to get through the most dreary part of the winter. I have felt for quite awhile that we all need a good laugh, and Lucky Stiff certainly provides that. For the price, it is an evening well spent.
Lucky Stiff plays at the Heritage Theatre (2505 South Highway 89, Perry) on Mondays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 7:30 through Feb 1, 2025 with matinees on January 18th & 25th at 2 PM. Tickets are $10-16. For more information, visit heritagetheatreutah.com.
