MANSFIELD – A friendly feud between Britain and America plays out on the Mansfield Playhouse stage during “You Say Tomatoes” this weekend.
A small cast of four brings to life the story of a saucy New York TV producer and a reclusive British mystery writer as they balance a working relationship with a personal feud. Eventually, though, the spark between the two turns romantic, and they find themselves drawn to each other with the help of their assistants.
The cast includes genuine Englishman Steve Russell (a former Richland Source columnist) as British writer Giles St. James, Katy Esmont as producer Libby Daniels, Lindsey Saltz as Libby’s assistant Daisy and Britt Moore as Giles’ assistant Fred. Director Mark Jordan described the show as “delicious fun.”
“It’s very charmingly funny, and you get to see the chemistry of the actors,” Jordan said.
The reclusive Giles loathes America and all things American, and detests the way the Yanks want to dumb-down his stories for mass consumption on television. In the back-and-forth banter of America versus Britain, Russell admits some stereotypes thrown in are actually true.
“It’s actually frighteningly accurate,” he said with a laugh. “I won’t comment on the American stuff, but the English stuff is all true. There’s a bit where Katy’s character says there’s an embarrassment of simply being English, and I always chuckle offstage.”
Russell is actually the only actor on stage using his natural voice. Esmont puts on a tart New York accent to play Libby, Saltz adopts a southern drawl for the North Carolina-native Daisy, and American Moore keeps up with Russell with another English accent for Fred.
“It is great having a real English person who has no trouble with the English accent, but if anyone thinks he was only cast for that reason they will discover that he also happens to be a great comic actor,” Jordan said.
“Tomatoes” serves as a kind of homecoming for Esmont, who has not seen the Playhouse stage in nearly 15 years. However, she said coming back has been like riding a bike.
“I got right back in the swing of things,” Esmont said. “Mark is one of my old theatre friends that I met the first time around, and now he’s like the big wig! I happened to see the auditions on Facebook and when I saw Mark was directing I had to try out.”
Esmont enjoys peeling back the layers of her character Libby, whose tough exterior eventually falls away by the end of the play.
“She’s this tough producer from New York, but when we first meet her, her life is a wreck and she’s trying to make a comeback,” she said. “As the play unfolds you find out she’s pretty lonely, and it’s like her self-discovery to finding love again.”
For Russell, a veteran of the Playhouse, he has enjoyed his first time in a more dramatic role with a dramatically smaller cast.
“It’s more lines than I’ve ever had, and you have more slower, emotional moments,” he said. “But because the lines are more conversational it gives a more intimate feel, like we’re actually getting to know each other.”
“It’s so fun to watch Steve and Katy, they have so much fun playing off each other’s timing, and that kind of back-and-forth is great fun to watch,” added Jordan.
Performances of “You Say Tomatoes,” which includes some adult language and humor, will take place April 27, April 28, May 4, and May 5 at 8 p.m. There will also be a matinee performance on May 6 at 2:30 p.m.
The Mansfield Playhouse box office is open Wednesday through Friday from 1 to 5 p.m. at 419-522-2883. Tickets are also available online at www.MansfieldPlayhouse.com.
“It’s very well-written, very clever and very witty,” Esmont said. “And Steve Russell in his grouse-hunting outfit is worth the price of admission.”
