Cappies Review: Oakton High School's 'Once in a Lifetime'

PHOTO (from left to right) Sean Frankel and Joe Walker/photo by Doug Kutyna

Review by CECILY WOLFE of Flint Hill School

OAKTON, VA -- Want to make it in the talking picture business? Simply hop on a train to California, fashion a career as an elocution expert, compulsively eat Indian nuts, and buy two thousand airplanes. After all, the whole business is in the hands of incompetents, although Oakton High School's "Once in a Lifetime" cast was anything but incompetent.

First seen on September 24, 1930 at the Music Box Theatre in New York City, "Once in a Lifetime" is a spirited comedy by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman that sweeps the audience up in the pitfalls of the first "talkies" or movies with sound, a booming but flawed industry in the early 1930s.

With a slew of kooky characters, including ex-vaudevillians turned "elocution experts" Jerry Hyland, May Daniels, and George Lewis; slow-witted and mildly atrocious actress Susan Walker; wealthy filmmaker Herman Glogauer; nearly insane playwrights; and vocally-challenged movie stars, Oakton's production of "Once in a Lifetime" scrubbed away the cares of today with a fine sheen of sharp-witted, satirical remarks and hilarious antics.

The cast sped through the show in a lively fashion, spitting out words at an energetic pace, yet also taking the time for serious moments. May Daniels (played by Anna Goodin) served as the rock for the eccentric show, with her authoritative tone; no-nonsense pacing; and professional attitude. Both the brains and the mother of the group, Goodin contrasted sensibility with a reassuring hand and advice for George Lewis (Hunter Carrico) and sensitive, searching glances for her love interest, Jerry Hyland (Rob Warrick). Warrick's performance offered consistency and relatability with the Hollywood-dazzled Jerry.

Carrico established himself as an enjoyable comedic presence, cracking Indian nuts, piping up in a child-like voice, and wandering in a dazed and curious manner. He easily flipped back and forth between tantrums and charmingly awkward interactions with his darling Susan Walker (Emma Macaluso), who portrayed the ignorant and appalling actress with vacant smiles and mechanical gestures.

Other cast members portrayed numerous satirical stock characters. Joe Walker (Herman Glogauer) embodied the constantly busy filmmaker, shouting commands gruffly and stalking in a controlled frenzy. Of course, Hollywood would not be complete without a struggling playwright and a director from Germany, known as Lawrence Vail (Max Torti) and Rudolph Kammerling (Sean Frankel), respectively. Torti exhibited versatility through violent, hysterical outbursts over the hollowness of films and rational, agreeable conversation, while Frankel's brusque German accent and abrupt directives were another welcome source of sardonic outrageousness.

The flurry of activity and constant chatter of the ensemble recreated a bustling set where actresses Phillis Fontaine (Emma Hopp) and Florabel Leigh (Anne Kutnya) cannot speak without squeaking or lisping; gossip columnist Helen Hobart (Mary Alison Carrico) floats about; secretary Miss Leighton (Kelly Billadeau) rushes around decisively; and actors, crew, and workers hurry from place to place with supposedly important agendas. Well-made, period costumes and props added to the charade of a 1930s studio, ranging from practical and sequined dresses to short trousers, plaid socks, and business suits, and a collapsible camera to an old-fashioned telephone.

In short, Oakton High School's "Once in a Lifetime" deftly constructed a tale of success in the most unlikely of ways, leaving the audience with hearts full of laughter and a wish that preposterous situations could always work out in such a wonderfully zany way.