‘Hay Fever’ nothing to sneeze at

CEDAR RAPIDS - Blisshaven is neither blissful nor a haven for anything other than hilarious high jinks.

Noel Coward's over-the-top characters didn't get the memo that 'Hay Fever” is a comedy of manners, because they have none.

Comedy of situation, they command in abundance.

This year's delightful Classics at Brucemore is a romp and roll in the hay for the primly improper British Bliss family and their hapless houseguests. They may drink their tea with their pinkies up, but they also wash those fingers in the steady stream from the peeing boy statue adorning the garden patio.

The play, written in 1924, opened Thursday to 306 audience members munching on plentiful picnics under a perfect summer setting sun. It continues tonight and July 17 to 19 in the natural amphitheater behind stately Brucemore manor. Gates open at 7 p.m. for lavish lawn lunching, and the show begins at 8 p.m.

It's a swiftly paced vehicle, flying by in two hours and 10 minutes. I could easily spend another two hours listening to the Blisses bicker and berate each other and their guests so deliciously deviously. It's all wicked fun.

Director Jim Kern was graced with a dream cast - 10 people perfectly suited to their particulars, right down to taxi driver Mark Beebe, steering his vintage automobile expertly through the pine trees. Actor Jim Kropa steers the other classic car as craftily as he steers his character.

Cherryl Moon Thomason proves once again that an actor needn't have a huge role to have a huge impact on an audience. She plays the put-upon housekeeper who must keep everyone in tea and nibbles, muttering under her breath every exaggerated, exasperated step of the way. Her every scene received a round of applause from the opening-night audience.

Everyone onstage is a star, from Marty Norton's waning stage diva/matriarch Judith Bliss, to Kristen Wilcox as houseguest Jackie Coryton, who seems to be perpetually sucking lemons.

No one can make lemonade out of this weekend gone haywire, as all four Blisses invite a love interest to their house at Cookham, Berkshire, by the River Thames (or in this case, the Brucemore duck pond). Everyone pairs off and trots off into the garden, often coming back with a different partner.

Norton is in her element as the aging drama queen, desperate to cling to the youth she sees slipping away into her horrible children Sorel (Angela Billman at her bratty best) and Simon (Aaron Murphy skipping merrily through his artsy shenanigans), while Judith's 'smug and pompous” writer/husband David (David Morton) steps out of her shadow, into a few key appearances.

They treat their guests most horridly. Bewildered at every turn are the dashing Richard Greatham (Matthew James), the 'self-conscious vampire” Myra Arundel (Lindsay Prince), the prudish Coryton (Wilcox) and the wild-eyed Sandy Tyrell (Kropa), caught in all kinds of compromising positions. Never has pulling up a pair of pants been funnier. Kropa's physical humor is a special delight of this production.

But everything about this production is delightful, from Derek Easton's beautiful set design to Bonnie Moses' glamorous period costuming.

This is one mad tea party that keeps spinning in most unusual ways.

If you go

'What

: The Classics at Brucemore: 'Hay Fever”

'When

: 8 p.m. today, Saturday and July 17 to 19

'Where

: Outdoor stage behind Brucemore mansion, 2160 Linden Dr. SE, Cedar Rapids

'Tickets

: $20 gate; $15 and $18 advance, (319) 362-7375, Brucemore Store or Brucemore.org

'Extras

: Gates open at 7 p.m., bring blankets, lawn chairs, picnics and beverages