Peter Abrikian, Gleaner Writer

Landlord Cash (Joshua Tomlin) and Chrissy (Georgette Wright) in a scene from '2 Hot 2 Hangle' being played at the Olympia Crown Hotel. - Colin Hamilton/Freelance photographer

2 Hot 2 Hangle, now playing at the Olympia Crown Hotel, is a treat enjoyed, perhaps, in a smaller dose than that which is served.

Ambitious in its scope, the play took on the equally huge issues of money and love.

All five characters are forever concerned about the states of their shallow pockets, and each female is at one point or another amorously entangled with each male.

Writer/director Luke Ellington's cast is comprised of Landlord Cash (Joshua Tomlin), his tenant Ms. Krystal Clear (Georgette Wright), her best friend Plummy (Margaret Wilson), love interest/conman Niko (Val Dixon) and Officer Sparkplug (Wayne Clue).

Energy

The actors all took to their roles with an energy reminiscent of professional athletes, an energy necessary to properly execute their hilarious bits of physical comedy.

Unfortunately, these were way too spread out. The sprawling three-hour run exemplified either a script which needed much tightening, or actors who needed to ad lib a lot less.

With each morsel of merriment, hope was built that the fun could be maintained, only to be smashed by another long section of rambling dialogue.

While a bad set does not in itself preclude success, it in no way helps the play achieve greatness.

This set was ... unfinished. On a stage as simple as this one (three doors facing the audience, a couch, a small table, one chair) there is no excuse to not have everything in fine working order.

Still 'propping'

Even when the 7:30 start time had passed, hammering could still be heard as the stagehands were erecting a tarp to block the audience's view of backstage.

During the show, two of the three doors adamantly refused to stay closed and the last, after having its handle popped off early in act one, refused to open without backstage assistance (though, to be fair, this was fixed at intermission).

All three doors could have done with a coat of paint too. The fresh-from-the-hardware-store look didn't quite fit with an otherwise 'decorated' environment. Hopefully, these were all opening night glitches and will be fixed before this weekend's runs.

Off to a rocky start, nevertheless, 2 Hot 2 Hangle is a fun frolic through the world of slapstick and should it tighten its runtime and sort out its set issues, it has the makings of a decent comedy.