Vagabond Players stage heartwarming comedy ‘You Can’t Take It With You’

Freedom, love, and fireworks collide in Vagabond Players’ upcoming production.

The hilarious and heartwarming comedy, You Can’t Take It With You, by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman, runs May 31 to June 24.

When Alice Sycamore’s fiancé accidentally brings his conservative, straight-laced parents to dine at the artistically offbeat Sycamore home, the shock sustained by the Kirbys shows Alice that marriage with Tony is out of the question.

Tony’s attempts to keep the families together are hampered by the strange activities of the Sycamore household, such as the fireworks factory in the basement, the printing press set up in the parlour, and Grandpa’s interview with the tax collector when he tells him he doesn’t believe in the income tax.

This classic comedy from the 1930s is the only play with a film adaptation to win both the Pulitzer Prize for Best Play and the Academy Award for Best Picture.

Langley’s Mike Parker plays Paul Sycamore, Alice’s cheerfully eccentric father. Having recently acted in Vagabond Players’ Christmas production of Sleeping Beauty, he is delighted to be returning to the stage in this wonderful production.

Parker has been heavily involved in community theatre since 1987 and has done every job in the theatre that there is to be done but enjoys acting the most. Other plays with Vagabond Players include Murder by the Book and Body and Soul. He also acted and directed the society’s production of Goodnight, Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet).

Parker is joined by a talented cast that includes Gina Foster and Jon MacIntyre as the engaged couple whose romance is hindered by their wildly disparate families. Cindy Hirschberg plays Alice’s mother, while Denise Brookson and Liam Coughlan take the roles of Tony’s straight-laced mother and father.

The delightful Roger Monk plays Grandpa, the patriarch of the Sycamore household, and Ashley Chodat and Alex Ross add to the chaotic atmosphere as Alice’s ballerina-wannabe sister and xylophone-playing brother-in-law. Celeste Musseau shines as Rheba, the lovable maid, and Jean-François Thivierge plays her out-of-work boyfriend. The cast is rounded out by Daniel Sotelo, Malcolm Stead, Sean Mawhinney, Sarah Harlow and Bev Pride as an assortment of eccentric hangers-on to the Sycamore clan.

Directed by Mike Mackenzie, You Can’t Take It With You runs Thursdays to Saturdays at 8 p.m., with Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. at The Bernie Legge Theatre, Queen’s Park, New Westminster.

Tickets are $17 for adults, or $15 for seniors and youth. Previews on May 31 and June 1 are $12.

Purchase online at www.vagabondplayers.ca/tickets or call 604-521-0412.