St. Albert Theatre Troupe issues an invite to 3C

Roommate sitcoms from The Odd Couple and Mork and Mindy to Golden Girls and Friends have always shared a couple of traits.

They’re usually nutty, completely unrealistic and pretty darn funny.

St. Albert Theatre Troupe is going down that road with their season dinner theatre launch, but with a slightly different twist.

3C, opening Thursday, Nov. 10, is a darker comedy, but with its share of laughs assures director Rita Jensen. American playwright David Adjmi’s script is actually a dark parody on the popular Three’s Company, still running in syndication.

The comedy is about a couple of roommates who wake up one morning to find a naked guy in their apartment. Turns out, he’s an ex-serviceman just returned from the Vietnam War. He was out partying and in a drunken stupor walked in the wrong door.

One of the gals is out of a job and they need extra cash to meet the rent. Newly arrived to Los Angeles, he doesn’t have a place to stay and moves in.

“This cast is amazing. They’ve been working like dogs. They’ve been able to work together and figure out the blocking. They’re not afraid to challenge each other, and that’s worked out remarkably well,” said Jensen.

In this darkly comedic vehicle, Adjmi re-imagines Three’s Company as a one-set apartment with six characters.

New to the company is Cory Stafford in the role of Brad, the ex-serviceman, a sensitive, shy type of guy who is uncomfortable in his own skin.

“Cory likes to connect with actors. He comes across as a sweet, energetic personality. And I wanted an actor who dig in and get to the meat of the character.”

One of his roommates is Connie, played by Heather Orr, a cute bubblehead who likes to surf and go to concerts.

“She has some of the best lines. She’s the comic relief. She has her moments, but day-to-day, she’s a dim-bulb.”

Shelby Bryan is Linda, the more reserved roommate who enjoys reading and is self-conscious about her weight.

“Shelby is a sweet, gentle soul and she knows how to dig into Linda’s personality.”

There’s Terry (Jeff Bannister), the brash friend and neighbour as well as the landlords Mr. and Mrs. Wicker, a couple on a downward spiral.

Donald Butlin (How the Other Half Lives) returns to the troupe as Mr. Wicker, “a skuzzy landlord, who is very opinionated, very bigoted,” says Jensen.

And then, there is veteran performer Joanne Poplett as Mrs. Wicker, a high-strung, paranoid individual who is off her medications.

Tension builds around these six characters through everyday routines.

“The playwright wrote in his notes that crap happens their lives; that conflict is an ongoing thing. We’re here to make sure the comic elements pop out as well. There’s humour in life, even in crappy times.”