Dirty Rotten Scoundrels at PTC

I am a huge fan of PTC's concert series!  I have seen their productions of The Rocky Horror Show, Chess, In the Heights, and La Cage aux Folles (and enjoyed them immensely) but my favorite is definitely this year's production of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.  I saw this show last night and I can't remember when I've laughed so hard!  Concert versions are stripped down performances where the actors use scripts (because they have a very short time to rehearse) and there are minimal costumes, sets, and props to let the music take center stage.  Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is the perfect musical for this format because the songs are absolutely hilarious as they are without much staging.  The story follows Lawrence Jameson (Brent Barrett), a charming and sophisticated international playboy, as he cons a wealthy woman named Muriel Eubanks (Elizabeth Ward Land), who is visiting the French Riviera from Omaha, by pretending to be a prince fighting a revolution to reclaim his country.  Soon an amateur con artist named Freddy Benson (Matthew Hydzik) comes to the Riviera and Jameson decides to take him under his wing to keep him from stealing his marks. When he tries to con Jolene Oakes (Talya Groves), an heiress from Oklahoma, he enlists Benson's help to get him out of an accidental engagement.  When they both take credit for the success of the plan, they bet each other that they can each con $50,000 from Christine Colgate (Kate Fahrner), an heiress from Cincinnati, and chaos ensues!  Benson pretends to be a paralyzed soldier and Jameson pretends to be a Viennese psychiatrist but who is conning who?  Even though there isn't a lot of blocking and choreography, there is still quite a bit of physical comedy and both Barrett and Hydzik are brilliant, especially during the songs "All About Ruprecht" and "Ruffhousin' Mit Shuffhausen."  I also really liked "Great Big Stuff," "The More We Dance," and "Love Is My Legs" because they are completely over the top and made me laugh out loud!   Barrett and Hydzik have wonderful comedic timing and great chemistry together and the ensemble is highly entertaining!  The band, which is on stage during the performance, is fantastic and music director Phil Reno is incorporated into the action with amusing results. I don't think I stopped laughing through the whole show so I highly recommend it for a fun night out!  There are only two more performances today so act quickly (go here for tickets).