'Vacation' a revealing look at pop culture

Flathead Valley Community Theatre will present its second production of the season, the Obie Award-winning Betty's Summer Vacation by Christopher Durang, beginning tonight.

Betty's Summer Vacation, directed by David Ackroyd, is a very black comedy in which, as the playwright puts it, "some very terrible things happen."

It is Durang's satirical response to the glut of high profile, gruesome and wildly personal court cases that periodically seem to capture the nation's imagination the Menendez brothers, Lorena Bobbitt, Jeffrey Dahmer, O.J. Simpson, Clarence Thomas and Anita Hill, not to mention the Bill Clinton/Monica Lewinsky affair as well as talk shows, like those hosted by Montel Williams, Sally Jesse Raphael and Jerry Springer, which jam the airways with "American citizens who are baffling in their willingness to expose their most intimate shames and secrets on television."

Marked by biting wit, hilarious parody, revealing characters and a pastiche of pop culture, Durangs plays have garnered acclaim, controversy, awards and a devout following.

Looking for a little rest and time by herself, Betty (played by Sarina Hart) rents a summer share at the beach. But Betty's luck turns to delicious lunacy when this sensible woman gets drawn into the chaotic world of some very unsavory housemates her friend Trudy (Elizabeth Helder), who talks too much; the lewd Buck (Matt Janes), who tries to get everyone into the bedroom; Keith (Luke Metzmaker), a possible serial killer who hides in his room with a mysterious hat box; Mr. Vanislaw (Richard Hoffman), a derelict/flasher; the juggernaut Mrs. Siezmagraff (Erin Cooney), who runs roughshod over the bizarre events that leave Betty more terrorized than tanned by her summer vacation; and three Mysterious Beings (Summer Rose, Jenny Tuck and Scotty Maclaren) who seem to live in the walls.

"There are some things in this play that might ordinarily shock me," Ackroyd said, "but Durang handles them in such a hilarious, almost burlesque, way that the audience not only ends up roaring, but also comes away with a dismaying sense of how popular culture is devastating American society. He's very much a comic writer, but one with something quite serious in mind."

Durang's other work includes Tony-award nominee A History of the American Film, Obie Award-winner Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For You, Beyond Therapy starring John Lithgow, and Obie Award-winner The Marriage of Betty and Boo.

Performance dates are tonight and Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday at 2 p.m. and Nov. 18-19 at 8 p.m. at the Flathead Valley Community College theater in the Learning Resources Center. Tickets are $5 for general admission and $2 for students and may be purchased at the FVCC bookstore, by calling 756-3814 or at the door.

The play contains very strong language and subject matter and deals with material intended for mature audiences.