The Fox on the Fairway

The Fox on the Fairway
Written by Ken Ludwig
Date premiered October 19, 2010
Place premiered Signature Theatre, Arlington, Virginia
Original language English
Genre Comedy, farce
Setting The Tap Room of the Quail Valley Country Club. This year.

The Fox on the Fairway is a comedy by Ken Ludwig that was first produced in 2010.

Plot summary

Bingham, president of the Quail Valley Country Club, is in a difficult position, less by finding out that his newly hired hand, Justin, is in love with Louise, the waitress at the club house, but by the discovery that the golfer he thought would play for his club has switched sides recruited by his counterpart and opponent, the cocky and arrogant Dickie, and the huge bet he had foolishly wagered is now likely to be lost. Fortunately, he discovers that Justin is actually quite a good golfer and finagles his nomination. Justin does not disappoint and has a huge lead, when close to its end the tournament is interrupted by bad weather. When Justin learns that Louise has lost the engagement ring he gave her - she accidentally flushed it down the toilet - he becomes unglued. The game resumes the next day, but Justin loses the lead, and, upset, takes an unfortunate swing breaking his arm. Bingham is desperate, and the appearance of his wife complicates the matter, as she catches him much too close to Pamela, his sex-starved vice-president. Can Bingham find a replacement for Justin to win the game, win the wager, and get his life in order?

Productions and reviews

The play has been touted as a "Ludwig's tribute to the great English farces of the 1930s and 1940s".[1] At its 2010 debut at the Signature Theatre, Arlington, Virginia, Peter Marks found the plot mechanical and the play too full of "shamelessly recycled sex, sports and alcohol jokes."[1] Paul Harris called it a "a manic race to the intellectual depths propelled by a nonsensical tale of greed, love and stupidity."[2] The second production, in 2011 at the George Street Playhouse, New Brunswick, New Jersey, received a more positive reaction by the critics. Michael Summers found "plenty of bright spots", although he also bemoaned a mechanical plot.[3] Peter Filichia described it as "phenomenally funny" and thought it better than Ludwig's Lend Me a Tenor.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b Marks, Peter (October 26, 2010). "Theater review: 'Fox on the Fairway' at Signature Theatre". Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/25/AR2010102504640.html. Retrieved April 10, 2011. 
  2. ^ Harris, Paul (October 26, 2010). "Fox on the Fairway". Variety. http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117943937/. Retrieved April 10, 2011. 
  3. ^ Summers, Michael (April 1, 2011). "A Farce on the Links, With Hazards in the Clubhouse". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/03/nyregion/03artsnj.html. Retrieved April 11, 2011. 
  4. ^ "George Street Playhouse Extends Run of Hit Comedy Ken Ludwig's The Fox on the Fairway.". NJ Stage. March 31, 2011. http://www.newjerseystage.com/articles/getarticle.php?ID=1210. Retrieved April 10, 2011.