English shoe salesman Harry Witherspoon comes home one night to find a message that Anthony Hendon, an uncle he’s never met, has nonetheless left him $6 million. It comes with a catch: escort the dead uncle skydiving while on a Monte Carlo vacation or else the money will go to the dogs, literally. In this case, the Universal Dog Home of Brooklyn.
This hilarious premise accompanied by a bevy of convoluted plot twists lie at the core of “Lucky Stiff,” a comedy on stage at No Square Theatre Aug. 9-11.
First produced at the Olney Theatre in Maryland in 1989, it won a Helen Hayes Award for best musical.
Unwilling to give away too many details, director Joe Lauderdale describes staging the show as a logistical challenge. “How you get a stiff to go skydiving, people have to come and see for themselves,” he said.
Scott Ruiz plays Witherspoon while Rick Gold and Patrick Casey embody the Lucky Stiff, a non-singing role amid what is otherwise a musical romp performed in the Legion Hall theater’s new arena-style setting.
“Previous performances have evoked fantastic audience responses and we’re hoping for the same this weekend,” said Lauderdale.
“Lucky Stiff,” 7:30 p.m., No Square Theatre, Legion Hall, 387 Legion St. www.nosquaretheatre.org $25/$30. Allow time for parking.
