The Muncie Civic theatre takes a mainstage production and shrinks it down Friday evening as they present a foolish show that skillfully exploits a straight man in an unusual situation.
For the first time, they will perform in its Studio Theatre Terrence McNally's hit Broadway play "The Ritz," a hilarious farce set in a gay bathhouse in Manhattan.
Fred Reese, director of "The Ritz", said working on the show has had its obstacles because he is new to studio theatre and the show is meant for a bigger stage.
"I have never directed in studio theatre before, so it's been a challenge for me," Reese said. "And this is a show that should be done on three levels and about a 50-foot wide stage. We're doing it with three doors and about a 20-foot wide stage."
The original script had details describing with floor an actor needed to be on and when. But without a set that large, the cast and crew had to tweak it.
"It was hard to get it where we needed to go, but I think we've done it," he said.
With a smaller space and actors making entrances through the audience, the studio theatre gives them a closer connection to the show, said Todd Sandman, artistic and business director.
"The way it's set up is that the audience gets a real sense and a feel of what it's like to really be there, which you don't get in the large theatre space," Sandman said. "I think Fred really wanted the audience to feel as if they are a participant. That's why you have the steam room on the side and people making entrances through the audience. It gives them more of a feel of being more of a participant."
He credits Reese for making the show and the changes work in the space. Reese even made sure to include the farce essentials.
"It's certainly a play that's easily adaptable. But you have to have doors," Sandman. "For any farce, you have to have at least three to four doors. I think Fred [Reese] did a great job of adapting to the space and making it intimate and giving the audience a sense of really being there as the chaos ensues."
The show begins with a middle-aged, overweight, happily married man from Cleveland, named Gaetano Proclo, and his fear of mafioso brother-in-law, Carmine Vespucci.
When Proclo finds out Vespucci wants him dead, Proclo goes to the last place Vespucci would look for him, "The Ritz."
What Proclo finds inside "The Ritz" will test his sanity and sexuality, leaving his wife questioning them as well.
"It's a show where everybody, no matter what their sexual orientation is, steps out of their comfort zone a little or a lot," said Amanda Clark, recent Ball State graduate..
Corbyn Capshaw, freshman, plays "Duff" in "The Ritz." He heard about the Muncie Civic through some of his friends at the Mainstage Theatre in Anderson. He said he decided to work on "The Ritz" over other Muncie Civic productions because it seemed more manageable.
"I just thought it would be easy because it's more acting to do," Capshaw said. "And the Ritz is about gay people, and I'm gay, and it just kind of works out."
The Ritz begins at 8 p.m. and is for adults 18 years and older. Tickets are $10.
Although some moments may be uncomfortable, Clark said the show still makes them funny.
Kory Amyx, who plays "Michael Brick" in the show, agreed saying the audience can expect to laugh their butts off the entire show.
"If they don't leave here with their gut hurting, sorry," Amyx said.
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