Laughs plentiful in Island Players’ new play

couples, two living rooms, one affair and plenty of chaos makes Island Players’ 'How the Other Half Loves' a hit.

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BY JASON SCHAFFER SUN CORRESPONDENT | jschaffer@amisun.com

ANNA MARIA - The final play of the Island Players’ 74th season is underway and it’s a strong end to a season that has brought audiences to tears laughing all season long.

“How the Other Half Loves” was written by prolific British playwright Alan Ayckbourn, who wrote more than 70 plays over seven decades and is a favorite of director James Thaggard. That made it an easy choice for the Island Players to choose Thaggard to direct this comedy, which left audience members laughing on the edge of their seats on opening night.

Thaggard regularly directs Island Players productions and was excited to put his mark on the Ayckbourn classic.

The story follows three married couples whose lives become almost hopelessly entwined due to one affair that happened and one that was assumed to have happened. The audience watches the story hilariously unfold in two living rooms simultaneously. In one scene, the entire cast is having dinner at one table in two homes on two separate days. It may sound hard to follow, but it’s not, and the momentum of the scene brings plenty of laughs from the audience. Absent-minded Frank Foster (Eric Johnson) and his wife, Fiona (Kristin Mazzitelli), are an upper-class couple who live a polite life, but are a bit distant and far from passionate with each other; their living room is half of the stage. Frank employs Bob

Phillips (Caleb Allen), who constantly argues with his wife, Teresa (Katherine Dye). The Phillips’ humbler living room is the other half of the stage. William Detweiller (Tom Horton) and his timid wife, Mary (Maggie Carter), get caught up in the deceit as Mary is used as cover for the actual affair and is clueless as to what’s going on for a great deal of the play.

When attending “How the Other Half Loves,” keep an ear out for the music, which is a personal touch from director Thaggard, who has a personal connection to 1970, the year in which the play is set. Also, while the entire cast speaks with a British accent, only one actor is actually British and knowing this makes trying to figure it out fun for Americans in attendance.

“How the Other Half Loves” runs through Sunday, May 14, with daily performances at 7:30 p.m. and a Sunday matinee at 2 p.m. There are no performances on Mondays. Tickets are $25 at the box office and $27 online. The box office is open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and can be reached by phone at 941-778-5755 or online at www.theislandplayers.org.

CAPT. RICK GRASSETT

Tarpon fishing should take off during May as migratory fish arrive along our beaches. Also look for Spanish mackerel, tripletail, cobia and false albacore (little tunny) in the coastal Gulf of Mexico.

Snook will move into passes and the surf and reds and trout should feed heavily on shallow flats as baitfish become more plentiful. Blues, Spanish mackerel and more mixed with trout on deep grass flats should also be good options.

As migratory tarpon start to arrive this month, we should have schools of tarpon moving along our beaches. Early arriving tarpon may be more aggressive due to less fishing pressure early in the season. Fly anglers should do well with a variety of baitfish or crab fly patterns fished on floating or intermediate sink tip fly lines. Staking out or anchoring in shallow water on their travel route should result in some shots at fish. The best angle is a “head-