"What the Butler Saw" an enjoyable experience

You may ask yourself a few questions at the start of this article. Of course, the most imminent would be, what made "What the Butler Saw" worthwhile to see? All I can say is this: Start with a touch of infidelity. Then stir in elements of homosexuality, insanity, sex, cops, drugs, blackmail and intrigue. No, this isn't a Jerry Springer moment. These elements are brought together through the brilliant satire of Joe Orton to form what has to be the greatest comedy of errors I've seen in years. It's not what you might have expected. In fact, when I went to see this play, I had no expectations, for I knew nothing of the play itself.\nWhat I got was the story of a notable psychiatrist who decides to seduce a woman he's interviewing for a new secretarial position. He talks the woman into undressing, but before he can commit to his adulterous desires, his wife enters the scene. From there, the deception begins. The wife mistakes the secretary's dress for her own and makes off with it. A man from the head of the psychological society then mistakes the poor woman for a lunatic and has her committed. From there, the plot becomes more twisted by the minute, and I dare say more hilarious too.\nThe acting in this performance was tremendous. Each actor and actress had the play down to an art form. The accents were astounding, the lines were all delivered precisely and each character was portrayed in a way that made me care about them.\nMike Price played the psychiatrist Dr. Prentice. His main strength lay in the way he performed the physical comedy that was required by his role. Price made every nuance count, and it showed in his great performance.\nStephanie Harrison played Geraldine Barclay, the poor secretary caught in the middle of everything. Harrison breathed life into this character. The plot had her going from a job interview one moment to being committed to an asylum the next. She was always sure to show the range of emotions that were needed for each scene.\nBreshaun-Birene Joyner played Mrs. Prentice, who seemed to really enjoy her part. Her strength was in dialogue -- you couldn't help but enjoy the slapstick banter between wife and husband in the few scenes in which they were alone together on stage.\nNicholas Beckett, played competently by Daniel J. Petrie, was introduced midway through the first act. He wound up impersonating a woman, impersonating a police officer and being shot -- all within the space of 45 minutes. Petrie played the part quite nicely and was one of the funniest characters in the entire play.\nBut the funniest character was Dr. Rance, played by Joe Gaines. Rance worked for the government and was in the process of investigating Dr. Prentice's psychiatric practice. What he saw was limited by his perspective and his wanting to exaggerate the situation. Gaines played his part to perfection. His frenzied movements on stage, his hilariously incorrect inferences about the situation and his disheveled nature combined to create a lively and entertaining character.\nLast but not least was the police officer, Sergeant Match, played by Steve Heise. He's the officer caught in the middle of the situation, mistakenly drugged and left for dead in the garden by Dr. Prentice. Heise played what could have been a small part and turned it into quite a bit of humor.\n"What The Butler Saw" was well worth the time I spent Saturday night. In fact, I wish I had heard of this play two weeks ago when its run began at the Waldron so I could have seen it more than once. In this reviewer's opinion, the cast members should be congratulated for what amounted to a most enjoyable experience.