Seton Hall graduate student Mark Saylor makes his directorial debut with Theatre Council's production of "Love, Sex, and the IRS" this weekend in the Theatre-in-the-Round.
Set during the Christmas season in the bachelor pad of two best friends, Jon Trachtman, played by Brad Harris, and Leslie Arthur, played by junior Matt Giroveanu, are struggling to make ends meet. Long workdays for Jon lead Leslie to have a secret affair with Jon's fiancée Kate, played by freshman Megan Sanderville.
Adding to the confusion, the boys receive a phone call informing them that they will be investigated by the IRS. Jon reveals that he has been filing his and Leslie's income taxes as if they were a married couple, courtesy of Leslie's sexually ambiguous name. There's just one problem, as Leslie points out: "But I'm a man!"
Cross-dressing, deceit and hilarious predicaments ensue as Jon, Leslie and Kate try to fool the IRS, their nosy landlord, Jon's visiting mother and Leslie's girlfriend while simultaneously keeping Jon in the dark about Leslie and Kate's affair.
"Dare I say, this show is going to be more hysterical than the Helen Keller card in the game ‘Apples to Apples,'" sophomore Mark Buryk, who plays the straight-laced IRS agent who comes to investigate Jon and Leslie, said.
Saylor had not always planned to perform "Love, Sex, and the IRS" when he started his directing process in March.
"I legitimately ordered random scripts [to choose from], and this one had me sitting on my couch at home laughing out loud," said Saylor.
He has since spent months readying himself and the Theatre Council for the show with the help of his stage manager, fellow Seton Hall graduate student and longtime friend, Kaitlyn Delengowski.
Saylor and Delengowski cast the show in October and then began the creative rehearsal process. This past weekend, within hours of the end of Seton Hall Theatre's run of "A Few Good Men," the set for "Love, Sex, and the IRS" was built and finished within two days.
The cast said they are excited about the production.
"This is one of the most fun shows I've ever done," said Giroveanu. "And I wouldn't say it if it wasn't true."
"I couldn't ask for a better cast and crew," Saylor said. In addition to this being his first time directing, he also said that this will be the Seton Hall debut of five of the eight actors.
"I'm glad that I was able to bring people in," Saylor said.
Sanderville said that she felt she became part of a community when she joined the show, which is her first performance at Seton Hall.
"I enjoyed the experience," she said, adding that the audience will too. "The performance is a bunch of fun. It's perfect for a relaxing break before finals."
Giroveanu agreed with Sanderville's remarks.
"Students should come see the show because (a): it's awesome," he said. "And (b): I dress up as a woman."
The show will take place Friday and Saturday night at 8 p.m., with an additional showing on Saturday at 2 p.m. Tickets are $3 for students and $5 for general admission.
Erin Bell can be reached at erin.bell@student.shu.edu.
