‘Beverly Hillbillies’ delivers laughs, but needs some fixin’

STURBRIDGE — Let’s be honest about this. “The Beverly Hillbillies” is critical proof. Writing a serious review of Stageloft Repertory Theater’s latest production is equivalent to writing a thesis on the intellectual acuity of the Kardashian Family. In other words, it’s a hopeless enterprise. So leave your IQ at the door, and relinquish yourself to the Clampett Family, the undisputed masters of low-brow humor.

There were some major issues with director Dave Glanville’s yuck fest on Saturday night: actors forgot their lines; occasional moments of unintentional silence; Pacing that wavered like Jethro’s attention span. Things that can be remedied and elevate the show, if not to Tony Award level, then certainly something similar to the TV show it’s based on. But, by golly, even in its still “fixer upper” opening weekend condition, darned if it ain’t pretty funny. Two performances need no fixin’ at all: Candy Schap’s Granny Clampett and Julianne McGourty’s Elly Mae Clampett. Schap blazes through her feisty portrayal of the family matriarch like a bobcat through an Ozark brush fire. She’s so authoritatively good, you almost nod your head in agreement when she tells son-in-law, Jed Clampett (Mike Reppucci), that Elly Mae will be too old to marry when she turns 18. McGourty, sporting a blonde, pig- Tailed wig, projects the perfect blend of tomboy and sex appeal, a buxom wildcat capable of carrying “cute strangers” slung over her shoulder, as if they’re just another pet to add to her collection. The goofy humor is also reasonably well attended by Reppucci’s gravelly-voiced Jed, who tells Elly Mae, “Nature made you a girl an’ here, lately, she’s been gittin’ more an’ more positive about it.” Jimmy Strong gets in his share of Laughs, too, as hayseed Jethro. When Jed worries that it “ain’t right for Jethro to be missing school,” the 20-year-old reassures him with, “It’s all right, Uncle Jed. They ain’t strict in the sixth grade.”

What made “The Beverly Hillbillies” so popular was its “fish-out-of-water” concept, the notion of an uneducated, unsophisticated hillbilly family moving from the Ozarks to posh Beverly Hills, after oil was discovered on their land. Double entendres and cultural divide are instrumental to its success. Adapted for the stage by David Rogers, the play sticks faithfully to the TV pilot storyline. Milburn Drysdale (Harry Pearson), the head of the Commerce Bank of Beverly Hills, is willing to put up with these alien beings, as long as their $50,000,000 is in his bank. His wife (Ceclia Daniels), though, can’t get used to the fact they are the neighbors. Pearson and Daniels play them in stereotypically broad fashion, but Pearson does it more effectively. There is an extortion-blackmail subplot, involving Mark Bourdeau’s Colonel Foxhall and Taylor Plumley’s Emaline Fetty, that feels tacked on, but Bourdeau makes for an elegant, verbally urbane swindler, and Plumley handles her “duel” role quite well. One of the funniest scenes, delightfully imparted by Bourdeau and Schap, is the bogus courtship between the Colonel and Granny, who hasn’t been “sparked” like that for ages. One senses that Glanville is trying to pull the production into tighter shape, but he’s working with a cast of significant varying talent, and accordingly, some scenes work better than others, depending on the actors involved. He’s doing his best to replicate the feel, look, and sound of the TV series, utilizing the show’s theme song “The Ballad of Jed Clampett,” and also Earl Scruggs’ bluegrass “Foggy Mountain Breakdown,” made most famous by its use in the movie “Bonnie and Clyde.” By golly, maybe this is a serious review after all.

By Paul Henning and adapted by David Rogers, directed by Dave Glanville. At Stageloft Repertory Theater, 450A Main St., Sturbridge. Performances Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m. through March 16. Tickets: $18; $16 seniors age 65 and older; $8 students age 12 and younger. For reservations call (508) 347-9005, or visit www.stageloft.com. With Candy Schap, Mike Reppucci, Julianne McGourty, Jimmy Strong, Sue Strong, Harry Pearson, Celia Daniels, Carol Sweny-Reppucci, Jane Benedetto, Mark Bourdeau, Taylor Plumley, Deven Dupuis, Ethan DeSota, Shalom DeSota, Maddie McKenney-Lydick, Julie-Ann Ginsberg, Ellen Cornely and Germaine Fernandes.