Buying the Moose is an evening of looney fun

Community theatre can be hit and miss, however St. Albert Theatre Troupe’s second show of the season is a comedic gem that is a lot of fun from beginning to end.

Buying the Moose is a witty, sitcom-style two-act play that reinforces the notion differences between men and women can cause miscommunication and friction.

Instead of creating a goofy sex farce, Canadian playwright Michael G. Wilmot has engineered an entertaining character-driven comedy that is funny, insightful and relatable.

In the first teaser scene, Rob, dressed in a tube-top and shorts dances with a life-size blow-up doll to the strains of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite. His wife, Betty returns home from a business trip on the eve of their fifth wedding anniversary and spots him.

Wondering what kind of pervert she’s married to, Betty storms out, peels down the driveway and spends the night at a hotel suite. Unable to sleep, she bakes Rob a carrot cake in the shape of a middle finger and drops it at the house. Rob is allergic to carrots.

The next morning, Betty visits Cheryl, her sister-in-law. As they savour two bottles of white wine, and a tub of triple scotch ice cream, Betty’s tongue loosens and she reveals her feelings of abandonment.

Greg checks up on Rob and discovers his brother dressed in pyjamas sitting on the patio acting like a grouchy eccentric. Rob is truly baffled at Betty’s reaction to his seemingly innocent act, but refuses to tell Greg the full story. Settling down with a few beers, Greg casually uses older brother psychology to pry out the information.

Director Jeffrey Bannister sets up the first act and part of the second as a persuasive ping-pong match between the sexes. The women commiserate on one side of the stage while the men regroup on the other wing.

The almost identical conversations switch back and forth. Although slightly awkward at first, they develop a rhythm and flow that is completely natural.

Although the plot is predictable, Wilmot has layered the script with numerous sex jokes and this superb four-actor cast nails them about 95 per cent of the time.

Julio Mateo as Rob convincingly comes across as a high-strung, yet sensitive doofus caught in an embarrassing position by the woman he loves and cherishes.

Mateo and Ramez Fawzy as Greg have an instant chemistry and play off each other beautifully as brothers. Fawzy’s Greg comes across as the cool, older brother full of worldly advice until he lands in the doghouse.

And Michelle Valencia as Betty expertly balances her character’s fury with a longing declaration of love from hubby while Shelby Bryan’s Cheryl is quite motherly yet displays a few surprise sexy moves of her own.

Buying the Moose runs Feb. 23 to 25 and March 2 to 4 at the Kinsmen Banquet Hall.