Wednesday, January 22, 2020
GO! magazine — A&E in Northeast Oregon
3
A laundromat, a word game, a love story
■ Eastern Oregon Regional Theatre presents the comedy ‘Stiff Cuffs’ Jan. 24-26 and Jan. 31-Feb. 2
By Lisa Britton
EO Media Group
BAKER CITY — It’s 45 minutes
after the new year begins and
Haynes Kittridge is already pen-
ning resolutions into her notebook
as her laundry washes in a lonely
laundromat.
She wants to write a novel, learn
CPR, get a raise and, as she runs
a fi nger through her hair, “learn to
use mousse. By August.”
So begins the comedy “Stiff
Cuffs” presented by Baker City’s
Eastern Oregon Regional Theatre
and directed by Abby Dennis.
The show opens Jan. 24. Cur-
tain times are 7 p.m. Friday and
Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday. It
runs again Jan. 31 through Feb.
2. Performances are at the EORT
theater, 2101 Main St.
Tickets are $15 adults, $13
EORT members, $8 students.
These are available at Betty’s
Books, at www.easternoregonre-
gionaltheatre.com and at the door.
Playgoers are asked to arrive
at the door 10 minutes before the
show begins. Latecomers will be
seated at intermission.
A
s the play opens it seems
that Haynes, played by
Andie Voboril, will pass the night
in quiet.
Then the door bangs open and
in breezes a man — Billy Allman
played by Paul McNeil — who im-
mediately sets her on edge.
He needs her to leave, he wants
her to leave, and here’s $30 if she
would just leave — now!
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Photo by Lisa Britton
Paul McNeil and Andie Voboril star in “Stiff Cuffs,” a comedy opening Friday at EORT in Baker City.
She’s so disturbed by his behav-
ior she threatens to call 911, all the
while brandishing the only weapon
available, a bottle of Windex, to
keep him away.
He fi nally backs down and they
settle into silence. But when he
starts moving posters to cover the
graffi ti she can’t help but ask him
questions.
It’s soon revealed that he’s meant
to rendezvous with a woman.
Haynes, already lonely on this
holiday night, immediately packs
up to leave despite the man’s ef-
forts to keep her at the laundromat.
Seeming to have changed his
mind, he pleads, “I’ll give you $30
to stay!”
The title of the play comes from
a word game called Stiff Cuffs. One
person says a compound word,
then the next person uses the
second part of that word to create
a new word. Example: sweetmeat,
meatball.
Haynes and Billy play the game
as they await his guest and it
slowly binds them together.
But then the truth of Billy’s tryst
comes to light: He is supposed to
run away with his best friend’s
wife.
Haynes doesn’t think much
about this scheme.
“Seems like a pretty stinky way
to treat your best friend,” she said.
The two verbally spar through-
out the play, at times seeming to
grow closer right before something
else sets one of them off.
Then a surprise character breez-
es into the laundromat and sets
everything on its proper course.
The cast list also includes Holly
Moore and Justin Kendall.
EORT
Stay updated on happenings at
EORT at www.easternoregonre-
gionaltheatre.com and on Facebook.