The Memorial Auditorium was roaring with laughter Friday night at the premier of Cory Stevens’ play “Family Dinner.”
The Shippensburg University students and general public that came out to see Stevens’ first play were not disappointed. The play began at 8 p.m. Friday night, and the audience began laughing as soon at the first actor walked on stage.
The audience was only silent for a few brief moments throughout the play. “Family Dinner” was definitely a comedic hit.
The audience watched intently as the Smith family gathered and tried to prepare to sit down and have a dinner together as a family.
The comedy centers on the daughter, Sarah, played by SU’s Ali Jones, bringing her boyfriend Peter, played by Shaun Bellamy, to meet her family. Through out the play Peter is attempting to fit in and find approval from Sarah’s family to little avail. All of Stevens’ characters had a comedic feature to them.
Sarah’s uncle Justin, played by Christopher Ericson, spent most of the play trying to find out if the Smith house was bugged, while wearing a hat made of tinfoil to prevent the aliens from interfering with his thinking.
Alex Kramer, who played the role of Sarah’s uncle Rick kept the audience laughing, as he stumbled around the stage drunk from the beginning of the play.
Grammy Smith, played by SU senior Nick Sentman, added a lot of slapstick comedy to the play. From stepping on her son John’s foot, played by Daniel Lindgren, with her cane to slowly and dramaticly walking across stage the audience was in constant laughter when Grammy Smith was on stage.
“Since I am a senior, I’m glad I had the priviledge to end my college career with such an amazing cast and crew and I’m glad I could do it in drag,” Sentman said.
Sarah’s brother John Jr., played by Michael Shipman, kept the comedy rolling with his constant smart remarks and bickering with Sarah. Every character in the play made the audience laugh over and over again.
The audience was able to make a connection between one or more of the characters on stage to someone in their own family. Stevens’ play showed that even though no family is flawless, there is always comedy to be found within everday family events and problems.
When the play ended around 9:30 p.m. Friday night the auditorium was filled with loud cheering and applauding. Some members of the audience were even on their feet cheering as the Act V cast returned to stage for their curtain call.
Stevens wrote the play and took on the role of director. Stevens’ first play “Family Dinner” was an outstanding success.
The play was also performed Saturday, April 27, at 8 p.m. and Sunday, April 28, at 2 p.m.
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