The Loop Newspaper - Tehachapi's Online Community News & Entertainment Guide

With a cast made up of the best of the best, Tehachapi Community Theater’s holiday production of “The Curious Savage” is sure to be an audience favorite.

The cast includes some old favorites, as well as some newcomers that are sure to become well-known faces after this production hits the stage.

“The Curious Savage,” by John Patrick, is the warm-hearted tale of Mrs. Ethel P. Savage, a slightly eccentric, but extremely wealthy widow.

Being the recipient of her deceased husband’s estate, she wants to make the best use of it, despite her greedy stepchildren’s selfish attempts to get their hands on it.

Mrs. Savage, however, has put her wealth into negotiable bonds in the hopes of establishing a fund to help others realize their hopes and dreams, much to the siblings’ chagrin.

They then commit her to a “sanitorium” in the hopes of shocking her to her senses.

There she meets a variety of social misfits, all needing exactly the kind of help Mrs. Savage can provide and who eventually appear more sane that those outside the walls of the institution.

These wonderful individuals run the gamut of characterization possibilities, and immediately endear themselves to Mrs. Savage (and to the audience, as well).

With the help of her new-found friends, Mrs. Savage leads her stepchildren on a merry chase which eventually brings them to the pits of humiliation and despair even as Mrs. Savage obtains her freedom. The dominant mood is comedy with plots, plans, and hi-jinx all around.

As director Doug Jockinsen puts it, “It’s a heartwarming comedy – about family, money, and greed.”

The cast includes Jack Blewett as Jeffery; Spike Daniels as John Thomas; Greg Hahn as Hannibal; Thaer Irvin as Samuel; William Kritlow as Dr. Emmett; Opal Lawler as Florence; Sam Lysse as Fairy May; Guy Martin as Titus; Sara Morris as Miss Wilhelmina; Terri Steinberg as Ethel P. Savage; Rebecca Wilson as Lily Belle; and SilentWolf as Mrs. Paddy.

This production opens Nov.21, 2014, and runs weekends through Dec. 7.