(Story and photos courtesy Aiken Community Theatre)
Aiken Community Theatre unleashes one of the funniest, most joyfully chaotic comedies ever written.
“You Can’t Take It With You” bursts onto the Amentum Center for the Performing Arts stage with performances at 7:30 p.m. April 10, 11, 17 and 18 and at 2 p.m. April 12. Director Marybeth Westbrook brings her sharp comedic instincts and love of character‑driven storytelling bring fresh life to this classic.
“Marybeth Westbrook has crafted a production that leans fully into the play’s joyful absurdity,” said Vivian Johnson, ACT Artistic Director. “Audiences can expect big laughs, big characters and a reminder that life is far more fun when you stop worrying about what anyone thinks.”
Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman’s Pulitzer Prize–winning comedy follows the wonderfully eccentric Sycamore family — a household where fireworks literally explode in the basement, a would‑be ballerina pirouettes through the living room, a snake or two may wander by, and no one has ever met a hobby they didn’t immediately adopt. It’s a home overflowing with lovable oddballs who live life entirely on their own terms.
Enter Alice Sycamore, the family’s comparatively “normal” daughter, who has fallen in love with Tony Kirby — whose wealthy, tightly wound parents are about to experience the Sycamores’ brand of hospitality in all its unpredictable glory. What follows is one of the most disastrous, side‑splitting “meet the parents” evenings in American theatre.
But Westbrook didn’t fall in love with the play at first sight. She didn’t even initially feel a deep personal connection to it.
“I didn’t expect this play to get under my skin the way it did,” she said. “But somewhere along the way, the Sycamores won me over.”
For tickets, go here or call the box office at (803) 648-1438.
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