A British farce written by English playwright Ray Cooney comes to campus this weekend.
The No Refund Theatre performance of the comedy, “Run for your Wife,” deals with a character named John Smith who lives in London and drives a taxicab.
When Smith is involved in a mugging, it is discovered that he is living a double life. The police realize he has two wives and two addresses. Each of the wives live in different areas, director John Reddy said.
Mary Smith lives in Wimbledon while Barbara Smith lives in Streatham, Reddy (junior-English) said.
From the moment the cab driver is found to have two addresses, Smith spends the rest of the show trying to cover his tracks, Reddy said.
Freshman Jess Arnold said she plays one of the wives , Barbara Smith.
“[It’s] just a big mess of confusion,” Arnold (freshman-broadcast journalism, marketing and Spanish) said in reference to the show.
Arnold’s role of Mary Smith will be her debut in NRT performances. She said she had always been involved in theater throughout high school but did not join any performances in the fall.
“I really wanted to bring it back into my life because it’s one of my hobbies,” she said. “I’ve been doing theater my entire life.”
Reddy said that he loves the fast-paced interaction between characters in this show.
He said he has wanted to direct for two years and that the cast and assistant directors have been great during his first time in the position.
“It’s definitely been my favorite experience at Penn State so far,” he said.
Jon Marshall, another actor cast in the play, said he’s really enjoyed working on this performance because he’s very much like his character.
“My character is pretty much me,” Marshall (senior-mechanical engineering) said. “I just do whatever I want to do.”
Marshall has been involved in four other NRT productions, he said.
He said that for this particular show, all of the characters have been cast perfectly.
“The interaction between all of the characters makes the show what it is,” he said.
Arnold said she enjoys the show because of “the humor in general” that is involved. She also said that the cast of the show is a good fit for the play.
“We have such a hilarious group of people in the cast,” Arnold said.
The show is being performed tonight, Friday and Saturday in 111 Forum Building. The show begins at 8 p.m. each night and admission is free.
