Other People's Money

Other People's Money
Lakeland Civic Theatre
February 2-28, 2007

Christine Howey, Cleveland Scene Review
It seems almost quaint, thinking back on the 1980s and the financial scandals involving shady brokers and arbitrageurs. They look like pikers compared to today's corporate and war-profiteering felons, who make off with billions of taxpayer dollars with a wink and nod from the government. But this play by Jerry Sterner, now at Lakeland Community College Theatre, captures that past era well. Just like in the movie, Larry "The Liquidator" Garfinkle is out to feed on the carcass of a failing wire and cable (back then, cable referred only to thick wire, not TV technology) company. But Larry is fought by the company's president, his longtime assistant Bea, and her daughter Kate. It's worth a trip out windswept Route 90 just to see Andrew Narten chew many donuts and a bit of the scenery as Larry. Sporting an eccentric Bronx accent and Santa padding to make him portly, Narten crafts a deliciously greedy, sexist, obnoxious pig. And Amy Pawlukiewicz is believable as Kate, his beauteous foe until the all too realistic conclusion. Director Martin Friedman keeps the pace lively and manages to keep a couple weaker performers from interrupting the flow.