—Carol. M. Rice
I first became acquainted with The Cottage about three years ago when I read the hilarious script. My understanding at the time was that it wasn’t yet available for regional productions (having just hit Broadway earlier that year), which explains why it’s just recently starting to land on North TX live stages. (Stage West presented the regional premiere in August.) Fortunately, Theatre Frisco’s excellent rendition of Sandy Ruskin’s ridiculous marital farce is well worth a trip from wherever.
Even before the show starts, the audience is treated to one of the best-looking sets I think I’ve ever seen in the Black Box theatre of the Frisco Discovery Center. Set designer Rodney Dobbs has somehow managed to create a beautiful, cozy cottage in the awkwardly cavernous expanse of that stage area. In addition, director Mikey Abrams knows how to skillfully maneuver his actors through it to ensure the patrons on all three sides of the thrust get a good view. The period furniture is not just gorgeous but also appears comfortable and functional, and Rachel Velasco’s props complement it all nicely.
In addition, the costume design by Michael Robinson/Dallas Costume Shoppe makes everyone look like they just stepped out of the wealthy 1920s. My only qualm is a mismatched negligee set (the two different shades of teal clashed horribly), but I’m grudgingly willing to forgive it since nothing else seemed out of place. Well, other than the fact that there was obviously no tea or coffee being poured out of the various pots into cups for our characters to drink. They had liquids for the liquor, though, which made the missing beverages even more puzzling.
I also wanted to mention that Josh Hensley’s sound design was spot on, and his simple lighting design worked well for the space.
A bit about the story: It’s a lovely Monday in 1923 and Sylvia and Beau have just spent the weekend together at Beau’s family cottage, as they do once a year. The trouble is, they’re both married to each other’s spouses and Sylvia has taken it upon herself to notify said spouses via telegrams about their affair. Beau doesn’t react favorably to this announcement, much to Sylvia’s chagrin...and then there’s a knock at the door.
Enter his wife Marjorie and her husband Clarke, who have also been having an affair, only theirs is much more serious, considering Marjorie is going to have Clarke’s baby. Then there’s another knock at the door, and we meet Beau’s other mistress, Dierdre. She’s a pretty young thing whose divorce is now final (so she could finally marry Beauif he’d leave Marjorie), but that plan works only if her overly jealous ex-husband doesn’t arrive first and kill him. You get the idea. How it eventually settles out, of course, is the fun part.
Kristin Sutton Ford plays Sylvia with just the right amount of pep and coquettishness, but she can also handle the emotions of being jilted and having to come to grips with her new circumstances. Her various relationships with husband, lovers, and rivals are appropriately farcical (that is, as realistic as one can be in a farce such as this).
As Beau, Kevin Moore brings a businesslike demeanor to the proceedings. What I mean by this is that he is never truly in love with any of these women (or any woman), but always needs to have one by his side and at least one in the wings. His affairs are never meaningful, and Moore quite effectively makes this a part of Kevin’s character from the beginning.
As Sylvia’s philandering husband Clarke, Jake Shanahan brilliantly covers the gamut of emotions from overly confident to scared for his life. His is perhaps the most physical role of the show, and he masters it with solid stage movement and comic timing.
Marjorie is more subtly portrayed by Newsha Sadri. She is probably the most down-to-earth of anyone onstage, but she also finds stand-out moments to shine. There’s one bit in particular (you’ll know what it is when you see it) when she brings the house down.
Skyler Malone flits and flutters all over the stage as the ditzy Dierdre. She’s one of those characters for whom the phrase “You’re so pretty!” was created — since that’s basically all there is to her — but Malone has elevated Dierdre’s dimness to an art form. We love her for being none too bright even as she drives everyone a little nuts. And I think I misspoke that Shanahan’s is the most physical role. Malone may have him beat: her drunken exploits are a wonder to behold!
Our sixth visitor to the cottage is Dierdre’s ex-husband William, also known as Richard, the long-lost love of Sylvia’s life, played by Joshua Hawkins. He’s described as a murderous giant, but we quickly learn he’s not like that at all. Hawkins has great fun with the various personalities of Richard/William, depending on who he’s with, and then we get to watch him settle into kind of an average guy overall. It’s a nice transformation.
These six actors are masters of farce and have excellent chemistry with each other, driving the silliness off the charts and giving the audience one heckuva good time. The Cottage is one of those shows I could watch again and again, especially when it’s as well done as Theatre Frisco’s production.
WHEN: October 30-November 15, 2026
WHERE: Frisco Discovery Center, 8004 Dallas North Tollway, Frisco (Black Box theatre)
WEB: https://www.theatrefrisco.com/
