Sabrina Fair

Reviewed by Holly Bartges

A shy, young girl leaves her home over a garage on a large estate where her father works as the family’s chauffeur. She’s off to live and work in Paris, France. After five years, the shy girl gets left in Paris, and a beautiful, flamboyant, stylish young woman returns.

Haley Johnson (left) and Shawn Gillum in the Theatre Company of Lafayette’s production of Sabrina Fair. Photo by Karen Goodwin

It’s Samuel Taylor’s Sabrina Fair currently playing at the Theatre Company of Lafayette’s enchanting Historic Mary Miller Theatre.

Directed by the extraordinary Bernie Cardell who exhibits an innate knack for creating an actors’ community of sizzling chemistry, and who has a propensity for coaxing characters into vibrant life, Sabrina Fair is simply a knock out production.

In a very small building, in a very small theatre, on a very small set, size loses all sensibilities. This production expands to enormous proportions of finely tuned wonderful characters.

In the beginning, a beautiful little girl with bright eyes tells about a Once Upon A Time in the 1950’s. It is young Sabrina Fair remembering her growing up days in the Larrabee Garden nestled in Long Island Sound, New York. Danielle Samler immediately captures the hearts of the audience setting the story tone as the young Sabrina.

Haley Johnson grabs the grown up Sabrina by the throat, claiming her as her own. Turning the estate upside down with her return, Sabrina now faces the big “what now?“ question, surrounded by three men panting after her.

Well, not everyone pants, Linus Jr. Larrabee magnificently portrayed by Andy Anderson turns his panting into snide, perceptive, digging observations. Playboy, sailboat enthusiast, controller of the family fortune, the younger Linus wearing a proud-of-himself sly smile, doesn’t care whom he steps on, when, or how. His carefully constructed wall keeps him safe from getting too close, too involved, allowing for arrogant pot shots whenever he chooses. This is one man who has it made in the shade and knows it. Anderson projects all of these qualities into Linus, Jr. from the moment he steps onto the warm set of the estate’s backyard designed by Sarah Roshan. Covered in vines and flowers, Roshan creates the illusion of seeing into the great house, and almost seeing the garage where Sabrina lives with her father, Fairchild, staunchly played by Jesse Pearlman. Fairchild, a reserved, proper gentleman loves being a chauffeur to satisfy his reading thirst. If Sabrina’s flamboyancy wouldn’t embarrass him. He knows his place. If only Sabrina would too. This polite, carefully carved gentleman quietly holds a secret. He can keep a secret without question. He has no need to flaunt anything to anyone. Pearlman, in regal stance, projects and protects pride in Fairchild’s chosen profession.

Nita Froelich embodies Maude Larrabee as a woman of great taste, a heightened nosiness, protector of the proper, and empathetic toward her forgetful husband, Linus Sr. deliciously played by T. G. Lewis. Mothering remains in Maude’s soul caring for her best friend, Julie McKinlock, beautifully portrayed by Linda Suttle. Froelich provides Maude with tantalizing depth showing this contented mother bristles quite easily when her social-graced toes are stepped on. As much as Maude loves Sabrina, she is anything but welcome at one of their parties. When she discovers one of her sons want to marry this daughter of a chauffeur, hackles rise from the nape of her neck extending into the audience.

Julie, in the process of recovering from surgery, just knows she no longer needs to take any medicine. Maude will have none of it. With checked determination, Maude will nurse Julie back to health if it kills her. All in the name of love and friendship, of course.

Sutttle’s Julie feigning objection to being waited on, allows a glimpse to shine through, broadcasting she loves being fussed over. Blessed with a sharp tongue and quick wit, Julie manages to be at the right place at the right time to sling the zingers. Suttle sees to it Julie’s timing hits a bulls eye every time.

David Larrabee and Sabrina frequently played together as growing-up children. When the flamboyant Sabrina returns in her self-applied glory, David nearly passes out. Right there, right then the love bug bites. Look closely you can see the bug sitting on David’s shoulder amused with a silly grin.

Christian Mast creates a complicated David with a cellophane mask. David not only has to face the reality of a failed marriage with Gretchen, played with a superfluous enthusiasm by J. Brooke McQueen, the rivalry with his brother, the overbearing Linus, Jr., inadequacies staring him straight in the face, and now he has fallen in love with a chauffeur’s daughter.

Laced with humored poignancy, Lewis’ Linus’ forgetful confusion offers several opportunities for quiet giggles and sharp out and out laughter. His timing, facial expressions, and body language tie splendidly together. Respect as the person he once was, even in disagreement, follows him closely by the family protecting him.

Linda Orr would stop the show if she could as Margaret the maid. That is, if she didn’t have such a strong cast adjacent to her. A maid designed to seriously please, adds a touch of golden humor to her strained sense of duty, reaching for the star of perfection while tripping over it.

When the reason Sabrina leaves Paris, walks into the estate through a calculated arrangement, Paul D’Argenson, smoothly played by Shawn Gillum, turns everyone upside down and sideways.

Jackie Tisinai’s costume design distinguishes each character, reflecting personalities. Brian Miller’s lighting design dances with the characters’ moods whether initiating, conniving, or lying in wait for the next surprise attack.

Because of my conviction to the theatre, I will never leave a production no matter how badly I may want to. Fortunately, that wanting doesn’t happen very often. In spite of the excellent performance of Sabrina, Saturday happened to be one of those times. The theatre shivered with cold. Miserable doesn’t begin to cover it.

It was explained the City of Lafayette controls the heat for the Mary Miller Theatre.

However, the City of Lafayette heard the complaint, giving the theatre the ability to control the heat for the rest of the run. KUDOS to the City for listening; KUDOS to Lafayette for responding! Instead of now saying Go, but dress exceedingly warmly, I can just say Go! When you do, tip your hat to the City and to the Theatre Company of Lafayette.

Call early for reservations, but call. The little Mary Miller Theatre sparkles as a gem in the midst of the Denver Metro area theatre world, and now it sparkles with warmth from the heat vents and heart from Sabrina Fair, a smash run away hit!

For an enchanting fun-filled theatre experience sliced with sound direction, full-blown characters, honest laughter, peppered with poignant thoughts, and an ever-so happy ending, Lafayette’s Mary Miller Theatre is the place to be.