“Something That You Don’t See All the Time”

EAST PEORIA — If you’re looking to have a good time and to escape from one world to another, the cast and crew of the latest production at Illinois Central College has something to see.

The latest production to see at ICC is “Scapin.” The story is about seeking revenge and how servants get even with their own masters. The production is described as a mix of the 17th Century Italian Commedia and Vaudeville.

“It’s not a musical but a comedy, a broad physical comedy and a little bit of interacting with the audience,”said Robin Berkley, director of “Scapin,” about the show.

The main character of the story is Scapin, played by Ryan Groves, 18, of Carlock. He describes his character as a clown, and his whole purpose is to play around with people and have a good time.

“It’s about two families and he [Scapin] basically has these crazy antics with them and messes with them for awhile,” said Groves, about the story.

Groves describes that the story is set to be like a silent movie from the 1920’s and 1930’s. His character is a resemblance to the iconic comedian and actor Charlie Chaplin.

“Robin presented [us] with this idea a couple of weeks ago,” said Groves, about changing the character to be like Chaplin. “We were going with the standard 1400’s Italy stuff, but then she said, ‘you know what? We’ll make everything like Charlie Chaplin.’ and it changed how everything works.”

Berkley mentioned that they realized as they went through the production that there wasn’t much difference between Commedia and Vaudeville.

She defines the word “scapin” as meaning scamp, saying that the connection between Scapin and Chaplin as they both help people that are bothered by those that take advantage of them. So you can think of it as a shady Robin Hood.

Groves said the audience can expect a lot of humor and interaction. That’s more than your typical play.

Who knows maybe you might get pulled up to perform an act on stage.

“Because we really will go out into the audience and grab people,” said Groves. “Sometimes talk to them directly.”

Groves also added that there are some scenes in which the characters will dress in drag, and there will be some weird stuff in the show as well.

“It’s a period piece mixed with Commedia and vaudeville. Its kind of post-modern and I think its just kind of a fun evening and something that you don’t see all the time” said Berkley.

“Scapin” shows a lot of comedy, music, dance, love interest and evening chasing. So it’s has a bit of everything that you would want to see in a show.

The show opened on Sept. 27 and will run until Oct. 6. Tickets are available at the Performing Art Center.