Theater Online - New York Theater Reviews

The Foolish Theatre Company’s current production Skin Deep bills itself as a comedy without tan lines, but one thing is for certain, it doesn’t lack for laugh lines.  The play explores themes of prejudice, acceptance and the comedic pursuit of fabulousity, set against the backdrop of a wild, Key West clothing-optional resort.

When Roger, the Godiva Inn’s owner, passes away, desk clerk and part-time drag queen, Clark (Robby Sharpe) and handywoman / dominatrix extraordinaire, Jane (Mary Theresa Archbold) work to keep the hotel afloat until Roger’s midwestern brother George (William Tatlock Green) can take over the reins.   As soon as the cab pulls up from Dayton, George and his wife Liz (Dee Dee Friedman) experience a world well outside their own comfort zone, and meet their surroundings with trepidation and curiosity.  Through a series of outlandish antics and perfectly timed one-liners the couple comes to know their employees and the hotel’s “eclectic” clientele.  While they struggle to figure out what their new life as empty-nesters means, the two of them grow to enjoy their new surroundings, unlikely friends and life after the kids.

Admittedly, Richard Orloff’s script has some moments of shameless sitcom sentimentality, but the show is incredibly funny!  Each of the characters is given the opportunity to shine by serving up their own partin’ shots, which whimsically punctuate each of the characters’ entrances and exits.

Much of the success of the production rests on the shoulders of the hilarious Robby Sharpe.  As the Inn’s flamboyant clerk and anytime cabana boy, he both literally and figuratively sparkles in the production.  His work as Clark is equal parts Greek chorus and Mario Cantone stand-up special.

Dee Dee Friedman also stands out in the production as a woman who, in spite of her life’s upheaval, finds herself excited for a fresh start.  Her thoughts resonate not only in the delivery of her lines, but as ideas behind the eyes –which serve to provide some of the play’s most crucially honest moments.  As the beleaguered George, one would hope Green’s portrayal to find more colors. Through so much of the play he sits in a place of intolerance and self-pity, with little variation.  As a result, his dénouement arrives in a rather shoe-horned manner to meet the play’s conclusion.

The story provides a lot of honest laughs in about a topic that so many people are currently struggling with: What do you do when you find yourself in the middle of your life and you have to start over“  Much credit can be given to Orloff and the Foolish Theatre Company for providing an opportunity to engage in this relevant conversation about personal reinvention while offering a lot of laughs along the way.