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Caledon Town Hall Players present new comedy ‘Harris Cashes Out!’

May 2, 2024   ·   0 Comments

By Constance Scrafield

Playwright, Londos D’arrigo’s work is returning to the Caledon Town Hall Players stage with their production of his play “Harris Cashes Out!”

In brief, 40 years ago, the play’s protagonist Harris Wellborn, playwright/lyricist, had an off-Broadway production; his original show closed one night after a snowstorm. Following that, he tried to write plays and musicals but there were no takers. He barely keeps body and soul together, living in a run-down apartment block, while depending on his domineering sister’s charity.

He attempted to run a bed-and-breakfast, unsuccessfully. When all had failed him, Maggie, his bossy sister, moved him into the basic apartment where we pick up his story.

One day though, as director Kim Blacklock told the Citizen, life takes a surprising turn when Harris meets a young lady and her boyfriend, Kim and Jason, who take advantage of meeting him.

The internet-savvy Jason finds a way to sell the stories of Harris’ life to people in the world who remember him. How does Jason discover these details and use them for his own profit, all the things Harris has kept all these years? Come and see the show to find out.

They start selling “his stuff without his knowledge: music, writings and start putting it on the internet and making money.

“It’s a lot of fun,” Kim Blacklock promised, “A lot of good lines. We can depend on Londos for that.”

Indeed, the company produced a d’Arrigo play, “Spreading it Around,” last year.

“He came to our production of ‘Spreading it Around,’” Ms. Blacklock said, “It was fun to meet him then.

“Harris’ writings and music had no success until now – a long time to wait and in all the wrong ways.”

She admitted, “Diabolical but very funny in the end.”

Published in 2012, Harris Cashes Out! has been produced around Canada and the US but not locally until now. Londos d’Arrigo lives in Toronto. For many years, he was a comedy writer in Hollywood for Phyllis Diller and others, some of the time from Toronto, decades of working in Hollywood, from here and there, as Ms. Blacklock explained.

“It’s interesting to see how different companies interpret his play,” she noted. “But rare to meet the playwright.”

Director, Ms. Blacklock, told us the rehearsals are going well. As the actors all have day jobs, there are always certain challenges. For this production, the leading man, Stuart Davidson, works shifts which must be accommodated. Yet, there is such passion throughout the company for the productions and the theatre that a willingness to manage however they might is their pleasure.

Over the 35 years of Ms. Blacklock’s involvement, they have lost members and patrons and she commented, “Each has left a legacy within our group, however they had contributed.”

Like all community theatre companies, CTHP has its bills to pay; had to survive Covid, “Touch wood, we made it through,” she remarked with relief.

Of the play, we asked her what she loves about the characters. She praised D’Arrigo for how he manages to write “awesome characters to relate to,” adding, “If I wasn’t directing, I’d love to be in it. It’s about us getting older – in a good way. Everybody will enjoy it.”

She made the point that it is important for there to be community theatre, for the chance to be creative; and do something for their audiences.

“Watch them laugh and cry; they get as much out of it as we get.” 

Starring Stuart Davidson, Rose Brown as Maggie, Ashley Goldsmith as Kim and Nick Patel as Jason, this “diabolical but very funny” play opens the weekend of May 4 to May 5 and then returns May 10 and 11, with evening and matinee performances.

“This is my creative outlet – to see everybody out and enjoying the shows is an amazing feeling,” said Kim Blacklock. “There’s nothing like it.”

For all the details and to purchase tickets go to www.caledontownhallplayers.com or call the box office at 519-927-5460.

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