Directed by Dana Skiles - Richmond Hill Players
Nov. 14-17 & 21-24, 2024
By Elizabeth Hulsbrink
Picture this: Arizona in August, no pool, no air conditioning, and the ice machine is broken! This isn’t your average Ritz Hotel; this is the Ritz-Apache Lodge in Tumbleweed!
Hollywood screenwriter, Bud Granger (played by Derek Bolme, in his acting debut) trades the glitz of Tinseltown for the rugged charm of Tumbleweed, Arizona, where he buys a rundown lodge near the legendary "Lost Dutchman Mine." Bud hopes to strike it rich and retreat into a quiet millionaire's life, but his plans go completely off track when he discovers the lodge is over-crowded with eccentric characters. The funky space lady, Cora Ames (Jane Simonson) kept the audience roaring, while the melodramatic mobster, Oysters Rockefeller (John Simosky) and his starlet-in-the-making fiancée Chi-Chi Vazoom (Tifany Simosky- John’s sister-in-law), proved to be filled with unexpected warmth and charm.
Tilly Granger (Carol Neuleib) Bud’s out-of-work-actress mother shows up unannounced, and tries her best not to get sucked in to the pandemonium of the hillbilly town. Honeymooners June and Arthur Whitney (Elizabeth and David Shaffer) are indubitably and the wrong Ritz. And locals Sheriff Bates (Jonathan Graff) and Gert Witherspoon (Beth Nyland) are fed up with the ensuing chaos that always seems to find its way to the Lodge. The on-stage relationship between the terrible spy Dimitri Jones (Jim Skiles) and his FBI handler Susan Claypool (Stacy Herrick) confirmed that not everything you see can be believed. And while Fay Armstrong (Katie Orwig) is chancing her story, Karen Russell (Terri Nelson) puts a major development into a completed unhinged twist. A special shoutout goes to Elliana Moore- the illusive UFO.
However, the true standout that brings all this chaos into focus is the fascinating dynamic between Bud and his Hollywood director, Larry Lime (Samuel Carrington). Despite being complete opposites, these two form an unstoppable duo!
From a flying saucer, buried treasure, and a roller-skating corpse, to Brussel sprouts on a stick, Richmond Hill Players has done it again! Congratulations to director Dana Skiles, for bringing this to life. The hilarious comedy, “My Son Is Crazy, But Promising” is an absolute must see!