A Hilarious and Chaotic Trip to The Playmasters Theatre Workshop: The Cottage is Laughter Guaranteed!

by Abby Williams

On Friday, June 12th, The Playmasters Theatre Workshop opened its final production of the 2025-2026 season, The Cottage. Written by Sandy Rustin, The Cottage is a hilarious comedic farce full of scandal, charm, and twists and turns galore! Our setting is the English countryside in 1923, where chaos is set in motion when Sylvia (Colleen Mackle) decides to expose her affair to both her husband and to her lover’s wife. After its limited run on Broadway in 2023, The Cottage has made its long-awaited arrival to local theaters. 

The Cottage opened to a lively audience full of laughter. It’s been a long time since I’ve attended a show completely unaware of its content, but this production left me very pleasantly surprised and gave its audience a wonderful night at the theatre. I am a big fan of farce comedies and this one did not disappoint in the slightest! The production was directed by Deb Lewis, assistant directed by Mike Busch, and stage managed by Robert Drigant— all of whom contributed to an overall fantastic show! I was particularly impressed with the work of the set, which was designed by Deb Lewis and Kathy Garofano, and constructed by Lewis, Joe Szumila, Rich Hall, Damien Gaeta, John Lewis, Jennifer Pfender, Colleen Mackle, Jeremy Messer, Carol Radziwon, and Kathy Garofano.

The set immersed audiences in the Van Kipness cottage to the fullest potential, complete with a false window, front door, staircase, archways, and multiple furniture pieces. The only drawback to this incredibly well-done set was the loose front door. Throughout the evening, this door would swing open upon anticipated character entrances. While this isn’t a major problem, it did remove me from the story and caused a dip in anticipation. With an added door hinge or any alternative method of security, the set would not only be aesthetically beautiful, but serve the story even better. Lewis, who assumed many roles throughout the production, also served as one half of the Sound Design team with Clothier. The Assistant Director, Busch, is also listed as being responsible for lights and sound. While the lighting effects were nothing extensive, I felt the minimalistic wash over the stage served the play in a positive manner. The play features numerous sound effects, such as a phone ring, a gunshot, and more– all of which were timed perfectly. 

The direction was one of my favorite aspects of the show! A big pet peeve of mine is stagnant blocking caused by actors standing in a straight line across the stage. Fortunately, that was avoided entirely. I applaud Lewis and Busch for steering clear of this. Actors were given dynamic and lively blocking that convinced not only myself, but the entire audience that these characters were truly untangling a web of lies and scandal in a dreamlike getaway home. However, at points, two actors would be crowded down stage right for an extended time. This would occur usually when there were no other actors onstage. I would’ve loved to see a more dynamic use of the space and objects around them. By doing this, I feel the movement could come across more naturalistic, setting this direction on the road to perfection. I congratulate Lewis and Busch on a job well done!

The aesthetic of this production was complete with elegant costumes provided by the cast. A particular favorite of mine being Sylvia’s opening costume with a fabulous sheer feathered robe over a silk black nightgown. All-around, the costumes fit each character to a T! 

The entire cast gave engaging performances in this hilarious play. Across the board, it was apparent that these actors had a great understanding of comedic timing. I would love to single out the performance of Gina Drigant as Marjorie. Drigant gave a stellar performance and a masterclass in comedy! Her background facials alone stole scene after scene. Drigant had a brilliant understanding of her character and the use of comedy throughout the play. She was an absolute standout! Her counterpart Clarke, played by Richard Gordon, delivered a plethora of amusing one liners that were well delivered and well received by the audience. He excelled in his role as a comedic gentleman with an admirable understanding of his place in the pandemonium of The Cottage. Gordon and Drigant’s onstage relationship was a personal highlight, as their dynamic was consistent, sweet, and humorous.

The anchors throughout the chaos, Sylvia and Beau, played by Colleen Mackle and Stephen Kreal respectively, had great onstage chemistry! The pair welcomed the audience into the world of The Cottage before chaos ensued. Kreal gave a memorable performance, being both grounded and wonderfully comedic. Mackle portrayed Sylvia’s confidence in a compelling manner. While she had impeccable chemistry with her co-star Kreal, I longed for the same tension and energy with Tobi Tella’s character Richard. To avoid spoilers, I will omit why and just say that these characters have an intense history and I wish that was portrayed with more desperation and passion. Luckily, the clear direction of both characters kept the story on track. Sprinkled in were solid performances given by the actors playing Dierdre (Laura Buttenbusch) and Richard. Buttenbusch and Tella gave complimentary and fitting performances to the overarching humor of the play. The cast worked effectively as an ensemble to give audiences the best show possible.

While the actors were one of my favorite aspects of the production, the use of accents fell to the wayside. I found that many of the actors were using different variations of British dialect, for example the brothers Clarke and Beau, who would’ve been raised in the same home, had very different accents. However, due to the lack of microphones in the production, I will give the actors the benefit of the doubt as I suspect if this was a result of projecting. I am happy to report that every word was clearly understood and the cast deserves their flowers for this!

Overall, I cannot recommend The Cottage at The Playmasters Theatre Workshop enough. It will leave you cracking up and dropping your jaw all at once! The Cottage will leave you with an inspiring message of female independence and a great night at the theatre. For my first review with South Jersey Theatre Critics, I couldn't have asked for a better show. Be sure to make your way to The Playmaster’s Theatre Workshop to see The Cottage, running from June 12th to June 28th! Tickets can be found at https://playmasters.booktix.com/