Is He Dead at HCT

Hale Theatre always likes to ring in the new year with a comedy and this year they certainly picked a good one!  Is He Dead? is an absolutely hilarious farce and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it last night!  I can't remember when I've laughed so hard!  In the mid-1800s, Jean-Francois Millet is a destitute painter living in Paris.  He, along with his fiancee's father, is in debt to his coniving art dealer, Bastien Andre. Millet tries to sell his paintings to pay the debt but soon realizes that his work isn't worth much because he is still alive. Millet's fellow painters, Agememnon "Chicago" Buckner, Hans "Dutchy" Von Bismarck, and Phelim O'Shaughnessy, convince him to fake his own death and pretend to be his fictitious twin sister, the widow Daisy Tillou. Chaos ensues! All of the characters are completely over-the-top, the dialogue is fast-paced, and the physical comedy is so much fun to watch. I laughed out loud when Dutchy and Phelim try to teach "Daisy" how to sit properly!  I really enjoyed the entire cast (for some reason the performers last night were a mix of the MWF and THS casts) but I had a few favorites. Ben Abbott is brilliant as Jean-Francois Millet/Daisy Tillou! His comedic timing is perfect and I loved all of his facial expressions. David K. Martin is absolutely frenetic as Chicago and there is never a dull moment with him leaping around the stage. I am a huge fan of Brandon Green (he played the sinister Jonathan Brewster in HCT's production of Arsenic and Old Lace) and it is equally fun watching him mince around as Phelim.  I loved all of Daisy's costumes ("Do you know how much equipment I am wearing under here?") and, as usual, the sets (both Millet's garret apartment and Daisy's opulent Parisian drawing room) are spectacular!  I loved this show and I highly recommend it as a fun night out (especially during the long winter months).  Go here for tickets and information.