“It’s not so much what you say as how much you get paid to say it…”
This is the credo of Hal and Cindy Savage, a husband and wife acting team who forsake the underpaid thespian life (and use their acting talents to recast themselves as relationship experts) in Edge of the World Theatre’s current production, “Self Help,” the new comedy from Canadian playwright Norm Foster.
Overnight, the Savages have become a worldwide fad — the perfect star couple with the perfect relationship, motivational “love gurus” whose popularity is only outweighed by their bank accounts. But in playwright Foster’s antic world “be careful what you wish for, you might get it” isn’t just a mild caution, it’s an hilarious inevitability.
Hal and Cindy’s personal life deteriorates rapidly with the onslaught of fame and fortune. Their non-stop efforts to swell their bogus empire have left them with little time or interest for each other. So it’s no surprise when Hal opens the study door to discover his wife in a state of undress with another man.
Only Cindy, in her desperation, has not chosen her lover well. The naked man standing next to her is their gardener, a 60-year-old man with a heart condition who hears Hal’s yell of surprise and promptly drops dead of a heart attack.
Now their fame is really working against them, for their home is a non-stop parade of TV interviewers, police, agents, assistants, and domestic help — none of whom can ever find out that “the world’s most perfect couple” is having marital trouble without the empire collapsing.
The comedy spirals upward with a vengeance as Hal and Cindy must now figure out a) What to do with a dead naked gardener in a house brimming with people, and b) Is all this really worth it?
“Self Help” performances are at 8 p.m. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings, and 7:30 p.m. Sunday evenings now through Nov. 19. Additional 4 p.m. matinees take place on all Saturday afternoons. Parents are cautioned that “Self Help” contains some risque situations and adult themes.
Tickets are $19 to $22. Reservations and information can be obtained through the Box Office at 206-542-PLAY. The theatre is located at 9673 Firdale Avenue in the Firdale Shopping Center in south Edmonds.
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