Various members of the University of Indianapolis Department of Theatre performed Ray Cooney’s “Out of Order” as a dinner theatre preview on Thursday, Feb. 18. “Out of Order” is set in 1992 on the sixth floor of the Westminster Hotel in London, England.
The story is about Richard Willey, played by sophomore theatre major Josh Kruze, and Jane Worthington, played by senior theatre major Morgan Jackson, who are having an affair in a hotel room.
While in the hotel room, they discover a dead body, played by junior theatre major Tyrell Harris, and struggle to get rid of it. Once the body is discovered, Richard calls his secretary, George Pigden, played by junior theatre and pre-med double major Tim Allen, to help him get rid of the body.
In the process of getting rid of the body, they encounter many obstacles, including their spouses Pamela Willey, played by junior theatre major Lizz Krull, and Ronnie Worthington, played by freshman communication major Jalil Stephens.
To prepare for the play, Jackson worked on her timing and her energy to perform the scenes.
Sophomore Josh Kruze and senior Justess Hurst perform in “Out of Order,” this semester’s dinner theatre. Photo by Skylar May
“It was a difficult experience just because the show is so hectic, and it has to be this controlled chaos. For me, it was one of my hardest shows, working on getting the timing correct, getting the order correct, and making sure you are on point at all times,” Jackson said. “At the same time, it’s one of the most energetic shows we’ve worked on, with a lot of new people in, and we all got to play and bounce off each other. All-in-all, it was different from what I’ve been used to, but definitely fun to be in.”
Stephens is performing in his first play at UIndy and said his experience is unlike anything he has done before.
“It was definitely different for me because I have never been in a comedy before. This is my first comedy, and I’m glad that I got casted. I’m a freshman right now, and this is my first college play and I’m blessed to have been casted,” Stephens said. “Overall, it was definitely most fun I’ve had doing a play, ever. My cast members and my director worked so hard, and we’re blessed in having everything come out the way it did today.”
Having to get into character, Stephens explained how he saw the character of Ronnie Worthington and had talked about it with director Brad Wright.
“Ronnie is a ‘bloke,’ which is how we described him with the director before we started. He’s just a guy trying to figure out what happened with his wife and why his wife is in a hotel, because he’s been stalking [her] for the last couple of months,” Stephens said. “Ronnie is a character that’s really demanding, because he wants to find out what happened to his wife. He has some deficiencies, but he is still a good person who’s just trying to figure out what the h— happened.”
“Out of Order” will take place Feb. 25, 8-10 p.m. and Feb. 26 and 27, 6:45 to 8:30 p.m. at Schwitzer Student Center Dining Hall. General admission will be $26 per person, $24 per person for senior citizens, groups of eight or more or non-UIndy students with ID and $14 per person for UIndy students, faculty and staff. These ticket prices include dinner. There are also tickets available to students that are free with ID, but they do not include dinner.
