Bedroom Farce Review by Florida Weekly

Kristin Voit | Florida Weekly Correspondent

Published Oct 23, 2024

Marriage is hard. Bringing four couples together in different phases of their dysfunctional relationships for an evening is a recipe for disaster… and delightful comedy.

The Players Circle Theater does just that in “Bedroom Farce” by Alan Ayckbourn.

Written in 1975, “Bedroom Farce” follows the misadventures of four married couples over the course of one evening and into the following morning. Delia and Ernest are celebrating their wedding anniversary. Malcolm and Kate are hosting a housewarming party, and they’ve invited two other couples, including Delia and Ernest’s son Trevor and his wife Susannah and another couple, Jan and Nick. As parties go, it’s a bit of a bust as tempers flare, old flames are reignited and everyone’s lives are upended.

“This couple, Trevor and his wife, are ruining everyone’s nights, but for them to ruin everyone’s nights, there had to be something wrong in each of the relationships to begin with. Trevor and Susannah just push them over the limit,” said Players Circle Co-founder and Producing Artistic Director Robert Cacioppo.

“One of our catchphrases is, ‘Three beds, four couples, one hilarious night.’ It’s about loneliness and an unhappy marriage, so there’s a lot of really interesting depth to this play. It’s both really, really funny, but really smart, and people will see themselves. I think it’s great because, literally, someone will be standing right here talking to her husband and you’re right here,” he described, motioning to a seat directly in front of the set. “This is the third time I’m directing it. I directed it in 1992 on Sanibel, and then I directed it 12 years ago at Florida Rep, and now I’m directing it again. I think I went straight out for the comedy in the other productions, and now I’m finding the richness of the characters and the situations. I think I approach my work differently than I did 10 years ago.”

Cacioppo explained that Players Circle works with an ensemble of actors who perform in multiple productions throughout the season.

“I think it’s really fantastic when the audience gets to meet actors and then discover their range. ‘Oh, he was great in that drama, and now he’s so funny in this play.’ In the next play, ‘I didn’t know that person could sing,” said Cacioppo.

Jokes about people being people

The Players Circle’s theater space is a black box set up in the round with the audience on all four sides of the stage.

“This show that we’ve been rehearsing for is in the round. I like that we do a lot of shows in the round because I like the thought that it’s called Players Circle — that you circle the players,” explained Cacioppo.

There are bedrooms set in three of the four corners of the stage that quite literally bring audiences face-to-face with the characters. Lights come up and go down in one area and then up in another as the action switches between each scene. Having the audience in such close proximity can be disarming.

“I had never done theater in the round,” explained actor James Heffernan, who plays Ernest in the production. “At first, I was hesitant to do it because I like the fourth wall. I like having separation. It was odd to have people close by, but it’s a much more intimate feel to the thing. You just have to not get distracted by people. One time, I turned, and I felt like saying, ‘Are you enjoying the show?’ I mean, (audience members) were right next to me.

The talent runs deep in this production. Ernest’s wife, Delia, is portrayed by Cacioppo’s wife, Co-founder, Managing Director and seasoned actress, Carrie Lund Cacioppo.

Actress and Educational Program Director Kimberly Suskind, who plays Kate, said, “It’s fun that when the audience comes in, they get to walk through our bedrooms to get to their seats. You never get to, as an audience member, step into the world of the play.”

In the play, Suskind’s husband Malcolm is portrayed by her real-life spouse, Associate Artistic Director Ted Wioncek III. The couple found many parallels between their own relationship and that of their characters.

“In the play, my character Malcolm and her character Kate are constantly hiding each other’s items, boots and brushes and all kinds of things and sneaking them around the room so the other one can’t find them,” said Wioncek.

“I’m not too ashamed to admit that it’s not too different in our home. I am personally notorious for organizing our daughter’s stuffed animals in precarious places around the house and all that kind of stuff. So, it’s easy to tap into the fun and even the frustrations that they go through,” he laughed.

Suskind added, “It’s so incredibly easy to tap into any one of these characters, and I’m sure the audience will see themselves as well as those they know in each of these characters. There’s a pinch of pain in (Ayckbourn’s) writing that I think just really makes it very honest and interesting to take on as an actor.”

Actor Steven Kennedy, who plays Trevor, said his character is “horrible.”

“He’s a destroyer of lives. He just comes in only caring about himself, and he pretty much gets in the middle of every single relationship that’s going on in the show,” Kennedy said.

“I play Susannah,” said actress Maddy Hayes. “I really like Susannah as an actor because I feel like everybody, in their worst moments, after they go to a party or after they’re around people that they’re not quite familiar with, they come back to themselves and they’re like, ‘I felt uncomfortable during that. I feel like I wasn’t attentive or engaging enough.’ And Susannah is all of those things, and it never once occurs to her that she’s any of those things. She really does throw a wrench in every single relationship, including her own.”

Kennedy affirmed, “We both do the same thing. We both think very highly of ourselves and think everyone wants us around no matter how much we’re problems in their lives. We’re oblivious to everything.”

Hayes explained that Ayckbourn’s jokes have a timeless quality that will resonate with modern audiences.

“Ayckbourn writes jokes about people being people,” she said. “With maybe the exception of corded phones, this play could happen tomorrow. The relationships and the back-and-forth between married couples, I think he hits on something timeless about the struggles that people have when they’re with each other for a long time but also the joys and the laughter that comes with being with someone for a very long time.”

Idiosyncratic Nuances

The quality of the productions at the Players Circle is in the details — details that come from decades of experience.

Robert Cacioppo and his wife, Carrie, started the Players Circle Theater in 2019 and relocated from the Shell Factory to their current space on McGregor Boulevard in Fort Myers in 2023. The couple have played an integral part in shaping the professional theater community in Southwest Florida for almost 40 years. After founding the Pirate Playhouse on Sanibel in 1984, they founded and ran Florida Repertory Theatre for 20 years.

Months after separating from the Florida Repertory Theatre in 2018, Robert Cacioppo discovered he had a benign brain tumor.

“I was lucky with my brain tumor because it was the kind of brain tumor that weaves in your brain matter. It was called meningioma, and it’s self-contained. So, it was really large and the size of an orange, and it was pressing against my frontal lobe, which changed my personality and caused balance issues. But when it was removed, I was immediately fine. Literally no recuperation,” he explained.

With gratitude and a renewed entrepreneurial vision, the Cacioppos continued to pour their passions into creating quality professional theater in Southwest Florida with the opening of Players Circle Theater.

“I’m very blessed and very lucky that I have spent 37 years making a living in the theater and doing nothing else, basically,” said Robert Cacioppo.

Carrie Lund Cacioppo added, “The fact is that we know the evidence of what good theater can do for a community, how it can move them, what it did downtown. We firmly believe that it creates a place for humanity.”

The couple credits their years of involvement in the community and the collaboration of talented artists for the Players Circle’s success.

“I think we were able to swiftly become successful here. I don’t think someone who just came into this community could have done that, but it’s that we have 30 years of history here. Because we’re on a growing stage, we are looking to bring in other people who want to have a life in the theater because we need a full-time props person. We just hired a full-time stage manager. We need more help,” said Robert Cacioppo.

The theater recently launched an educational program led by Suskind that is offering an audition master class facilitated by a panel of theater professionals on Nov. 5 that will be followed by a series of customizable master classes about auditioning. In the summer, the educational program will include several youth productions.

“They get to work with a professional team of artisans and designers in the theater. The same production value that goes into our main stage productions is what’s going to be put into their production, as well,” said Suskind.

Robert Cacioppo’s biggest challenge, whether running a theater or directing a show, is dealing with all the little details.

In reference to “Bedroom Farce,” he explained, “There’s so much richness in the script. I’m convinced that Ayckbourn is so great that all the answers are there. I just have to keep on digging and polishing the creative process and sharing it. I think when I was young, I was more dictatorial and telling everyone, ‘No, do it this way and say it that way.’ There’s a lot of precision that is needed in comedy.”

Hayes added, “It’s pretty indicative of the level of attention to detail that Bob gives his shows here. He’ll make sure that we’re hitting the right punctuation. He’ll make sure because he sees very clearly in his head how wonderful a production can be.”

Full-time Stage Manager Meaghan Daley’s job involves keeping track of basically everything.

“I feel like I’m the center of a wheel and all the spokes of the theater — paying attention, being aware of everything, anticipating needs, staying on top of what’s going on, what needs to happen, what has happened, keeping everybody informed, being the connector, being the liaison between the cast and the director and the tech people in the front of the house. I love feeling connected to everybody involved in the show and this theater,” she explained.

Directing a production in the round involves considering the vantage point of every patron in the audience.

“Robert is aware of every seat, and he cares about everyone who comes. It’s very important to him, and he thinks about it and considers, ‘Are they going to miss something?’ If he thinks that’s true, we’ll make a different decision together and find out a new way to work with it. So, there’s just a lot of love here, a lot of care about the show and the audience and each other,” Daley said.

Audiences should be on the lookout for “Easter eggs” strewn about the set that provide insight into the relationships and personalities of the characters.

“There are little idiosyncratic nuances that are placed in each of the bedrooms that help tell the audience who our character is,” said Kennedy.

“If you’re sitting here, there might be something placed at the foot of the bed that if you sit back there, you wouldn’t be able to see that’s like, ‘Of course, those characters would have that there.’ I think it’s actually really cool to kind of honor no matter where you sit in the theater, you’re going to get a little extra nugget that’s just for you guys,” Hayes explained.

“All of those nuggets are not taking away from any of the story or the plot. It’s literally just extra. It’s a great little bonus,” added Kennedy.

“I think the show also kind of leaves the audience with a sense of hope in a way in that every relationship is going to have struggles in some way or another. But there’s always a way to work through those struggles as long as you take the time to actually work through them. This isn’t the end of the world,” said Hayes.

The Players Circle Theater is a small theater with big ambitions, experience and talent. Audiences who appreciate the finer details will enjoy “Bedroom Farce” from any seat in the house.

Players Circle Theater is located at 13211 McGregor Blvd, Fort Myers. For more information, call 239-800-3292.