The Fox on the Fairway
By: Ken Ludwig
Directed by: Melissa Mills
Performances: June 15, 16, 22, 23, 24(m), 28, 29, 30
A tribute from Ken Ludwig (Lend Me A Tenor, Moon Over Buffalo) to the great English farces of the 1930s and 1940s, The Fox on the Fairway takes audiences on a hilarious romp, which pulls the rug out from underneath the stuffy denizens of a private country club. Filled with mistaken identities, slamming doors, and over-the-top romantic shenanigans, it’s a furiously paced comedy that recalls the Marx Brothers’ classics. A charmingly madcap adventure about love, life, and man’s eternal love affair with…golf.
Bingham, president of the Quail Valley Country Club, is in a difficult position. Not by finding out that his newly hired hand, Justin, is in love with Louise, the waitress at the club house, but by the discovery that the golfer he thought would play for his club has switched sides recruited by his counterpart and opponent, the cocky and arrogant Dickie, and the huge bet he had foolishly wagered is now likely to be lost. Fortunately, he discovers that Justin is actually quite a good golfer and finagles his nomination. Justin does not disappoint and has a huge lead, when close to its end the tournament is interrupted by bad weather. When Justin learns that Louise has lost the engagement ring he gave her – she accidentally flushed it down the toilet – he comes unglued. The game resumes the next day, but Justin loses the lead, and, upset, takes an unfortunate swing breaking his arm. Bingham is desperate, and the appearance of his wife complicates the matter, as she catches him much too close to Pamela, his sex-starved vice-president. Can Bingham find a replacement for Justin to win the game, win the wager, and get his life in order?
Director
Melissa Mills has spent the last 8 years with ACT. Acting in several shows including Alice in Wonderland, Pirates of the Chemotherapy, Oliver, Crimes of the Heart and as Blanche in A Streetcar named Desire. She has assistant directed on shows such as Tom Sawyer the Musical, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm and Murder on the Nile. Her Directing includes Paradise Lost and Found and Peter Pan. When she isn’t busy with those things her passion is set dressing for numerous other shows. She lives here in Albany with her husband and three teenagers, who also love theater. Her other hobbies include reading, writing, baking and going to OSU games.
Director Email: FoxOnTheFairwayACT@aol.com
Cast of Characters
Justin Hicks: Tanner Mills
Louise Heinbedder: Lucy Elgin
Henry Bingham: JJ Halchishick
Richard “Dickie” Bell: David Milner
Pamela Peabody: Sidra Metzger-Hines
Muriel: Cynthia Harvey