You Can’t Be Too Careful Review

I’m going to be honest: I had no idea what You Can’t Be Too Careful was going to be about. I had never heard of it before, and the advertising didn’t really clue me in either. Cards with characters instead of face cards? Maybe it was going to be a murder mystery or a heist or something? The shirts saying “Charming Bank Robbers, Inc.” certainly supported that. One of my friends in it told me it was going to be funny, though? All that to say, when I first went to see it, I didn’t expect it to be something genuinely fun and goofy. I did not expect the silly grandmotherly antics or the honestly really funny dynamic between Smith and Jones (Sam Alarcon (12) and Ethan Shepherd (12)). I really was pleasantly surprised.

The jokes were the absolute standout part of the show. Obviously one of the biggest ones was the frequent callbacks to (dramatic stinger) World of Shadows. I always appreciate small 4th wall breaks, and everyone turning simultaneously to look wistfully in the audience’s direction was pretty good. Alice (Ava Pursley (9)) shuffling along with her walker nearly had me taking my inhaler each time I noticed it. Smith’s outlandish shooting stance always got a small laugh from me. There were other individual bits I enjoyed, from poking fun at writers (I am not beating the “rumpled” stereotype), to the Meter Reader’s (Liam McCracken (10)) deeply unfortunate encounters with the basement steps, to Francine (Tabitha Johnson (11)) incredibly aggressively applying makeup to Alice’s face while she was actively talking. However, my absolute favorite joke in the whole show was Alice’s unflinchingly cold delivery of “I’m 75. Shoot me.” That line was just so out of pocket and such a tonal shift from the rest of the play that I totally lost it the first time I heard it. I literally took out my phone (sorry!) and wrote it down in my notes app so I wouldn’t jumble the phrasing when I wrote this article. I ended up seeing the play twice, and both times it was undeniably my most favorite joke of the night. Edna (Chole Castonguay (12)) helping her captors scheme about how to keep everyone captive was a close second, but the pure delivery of that line solidified it as my favorite.

I really enjoyed the set design and costuming/makeup as well. The double-layered set worked really well, and at some points I was debating if people were about to start clamoring through the window. Even though there was just one set for the play, it was really well made and decorated, and really captured that “grandma” feel. Everyone’s outfits were amazing as well. I don’t really have an eye for fashion, but everything really fit the vibe and helped make it feel a lot more alive.

On a more personal note, this is the last production I’ll be reviewing for The Roar. I am incredibly satisfied that You Can’t Be Too Careful was it. It was extremely fun and silly, and I enjoyed every minute of it. Even though I won’t be here to see it, I am sure LHS Drama will continue to stage excellent shows long into the future.