Deft treatment lifts light comedy of a hoarder

John Patrick's anachronistic little boulevard comedy Everybody Loves Opal premiered in 1961, back when the mentally ill were considered "eccentric," and hoarding didn't have a proper name, let alone its own reality TV series. So maybe that's one of the reasons Montgomery Theater's production of what these days might be considered a rather disturbing premise is, instead, charming. Though critics sniffed, it certainly pleased the audiences of its era, who bought enough tickets to warrant four sequels.

Opal Kronkie (April Woodall) lives with her cat (feline actor Ben Smith) in a tumbledown house, spending her days depending on the kindness of strangers - via the garbage she collects and brings home in a child's wagon - and acquaintances. Her philosophies are simple: The universe will provide, and if you're nice to people, they'll be nice to you.

Of course, this reliance on blind faith sets her up as the perfect victim for a trio of grifters hoping to knock her off and collect on her insurance, which also, in our current era of fake Nigerian bank transfers and Eastern European Paypal scams, seems so hands-on, and sweetly old-fashioned.

Directed by Philly favorite Tony Braithwaite, whose own performing and writing career is a testament to his affection for anachronistic comedy, the action hums along, playing up the script's screwball elements, and stopping at its darker corners just long enough to register a point and move on.

The criminal threesome, disgraced professor Bradford (Howie Brown), pint-sized Palooka Solomon (Will Dennis), and moll-with-a-heart-of-gold Gloria (Elizabeth McDonald), spend the first act digging into each character and one another. When their sneers and jeers aren't outright, they're implied; these three are stuck together not out of friendship or even obligation, but rather desperation.

The harder they are and the more evident their mutual distaste, the more fun when in Act 2 the relentlessly upbeat Woodall breaks them down to let their inner softies ooze out, and some real bonding occurs.

Braithwaite clearly enjoys this material, and his cast is unified in its effort to make the most of what, in less deft hands, could be a pointless trifle. But much like Opal, everyone, including set designer Adam Riggar - whose patched plaster molding, busted banister and enormous taxidermied moose head expresses onstage what Opal provides in spirit - puts on a game face and hopes for the best. Somehow, despite all odds and against all reason, one generation's trash here turns out to be Montgomery Theater's treasure.

Theater

Everybody Loves Opal

Through Oct. 2 at Montgomery Theater, 124 Main St., Souderton. Tickets: $25-$35. Information: 215-723-9984 or www.montgomerytheater.org.