In How Much, How Much?, the Lost Flamingo Company’s third production this semester, Michelle Robinson plays a character very different from herself.
“Half the time she doesn’t know what’s going on and just goes along with everyone else. … It’s been one of the funniest and best character roles I’ve ever had,” said Robinson, a junior studying journalism.
In the play, Robinson plays Peggy Monash, who has a daughter named Joycie. Joycie brings a man named Charley into their home who has made a lot of money illegally but has an idea to make more involving aspirin and pornography. All the while, Charley really just wants to impress his father, who is involved with the mafia.
“When you hear it’s about porn and aspirin, it will perk a few ears,” Robinson said. “But when you see it, it’s so much more than that. There’s that basic aspect that gives it comedy, but it’s got deeper roots.”
Brandon Stout, a freshman studying education with math and classics, said the show is like a roller coaster.
“It’s such a dramatic shift,” said Stout, who plays Max the pornographer. “It starts off really light and funny and then it gets into business and then really stupid business and then into serious family issues.”
Stout said he was interested in joining How Much, How Much? because it was the only comedy LFC was doing in the semester, and he had never done a straight-show comedy before.
The comedy in the show is what drew in the director Nikki Elmer, a junior studying creative writing. Elmer is a former reporter for The Post.
As rehearsals went on, Elmer said it was seeing the actors grow that became her favorite part of the experience.
“I like seeing all the different ways the actors can portray their character and how we’ve developed over the past weeks and formed bonds, even within the play itself,” she said. “As they grew, they learned how the characters mesh with each other better.”
Both Robinson and Stout said they both discovered more about the show and their characters as they continued to rehearse the play.
“Working on a play for a long period of time, you get all of those nuances in the show that you didn’t realize were there when you first read it through,” Robinson said. “It’s so much funnier and fun to work on.”
@buzzlightmeryl
mg986611@ohiou.edu
If You Go:
What: How Much, How Much?
When: 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday
Where: Ryors Rec
Admission: $3
