Tony and Karla Robinson as George and Judy Kimball in Arts Enter Cape Charles’ production of Send Me No Flowers. Photo credit: Chris Roll
By Sheila Vera
“Especially during a time when we’re so divided, we strive to find plays that draw the community together,” says Clelia Sheppard, director of Arts Enter’s latest production, Send Me No Flowers, at the Historic Palace Theatre in Cape Charles. The three-act comedy by Norman Barasch and Carroll Moore brings together actors from Hampton Roads, the Eastern Shore, and New York, and is dedicated to the memory of the late Joel King, a beloved Virginia Beach-based actor.
“I still remember the moment when Joel handed me the script, saying how well it would do here,” says Sheppard. She agreed to stage the play if he agreed to play the lead. Sadly, King passed away due to COVID in 2021. “The time is right for this tribute to Joel’s legacy,” says Sheppard, who has been producing plays in Cape Charles since 1997. “People need to feel the relief of laughter.”
Send Me No Flowers is sure to deliver a healthy dose of comedy. The play is set in the 1960s in the suburban ranch home of Judy and George Kimball, a happily married middle-aged couple, played by a real-life married couple, Karla and Tony Robinson of Virginia Beach. The plot revolves around George’s fear of illness; he is a true hypochondriac. Their doctor, Ralph Morrissey, played by the Robinsons’ real-life friend Mike Crockett of Virginia Beach, dismisses George’s endless symptoms, much to his frustration. When George asks Dr. Morrissey to visit him due to a chest pain, he overhears a phone conversation about a very ill patient, and mistakenly thinks the doctor is referring to him. George begins preparing for his own death, and enlists his friend Arnold to help him find a new husband for Judy. They settle on her old college flame, Bert, played by Jon Hatton of Chesapeake, also a friend of the Robinsons. A chaotic mess of misunderstandings and assumptions ensues.
“Although we have each been in many productions, my husband and I have only done a handful of things together on the stage,” says Robinson, whose credits include singing with the Chicago Symphony Chorus and numerous musical theatre productions. “To interact like this has been so much fun, working on our lines in our living room.” Both she and Tony have performed in Arts Enter productions.
“It’s uncanny how most of us in the show are so much like our characters,” Robinson shares. “We’re having a blast.” Her husband Tony, who has acted on stages from California to Chicago and all over Hampton Roads, “is very thoughtful and introspective, much like the character of George. I play this ditzy 1960s housewife who can’t take care of herself until she absolutely has to.” Robinson relates to the character’s dedication to her husband: “I love how the character of Judy deals with George’s fears, saying ‘yes dear, love you anyway.’ It’s just so cute.”
Playing Arnold, a lawyer and George’s best friend and next door neighbor, is Robert Wagner, a law professor who has been Tony’s best friend since they met in high school theater. “They’re hysterical on stage because they have this history,” says Karla. Wagner, who has performed in Chicago and California, is making his East Coast debut by reuniting with his old friend on the Palace Theatre stage. He has been flying in every weekend from New York for rehearsals, missing his wife and children, but relishing the opportunity to reconnect. “I have felt moments where I could see Tony and I over the years having one of these conversations. It feels authentic,” says Wagner. “My character in particular struggles with the mortality question,” Wagner shares. “While he expresses it in comedic fashion, the realization that his friend is going to die—and then not die—does hit him hard, and deeply.”
The cast also includes Tony Green of Norfolk playing Mr. Akins, and Eastern Shore resident Randy Garrett rendering the character of Vito.
Send Me No Flowers was adapted for the screen in 1964, in a film starring Rock Hudson, Doris Day, and Tony Randall. In a nod to this history, Arts Enter’s production integrates the dream sequences as original film segments, featuring the on-stage cast as well as New York-based artist Renata Sheppard, Shon Stacy of Norfolk’s bar trivia LIVE, Charles Robinson, and Debbie Garrick. The cast shot these comical scenes in locations as varied as the Harrison Opera House steps and inside a hospital, with videography by Chris Roll of Shore Fire Productions.
The play addresses the timeless challenge of misunderstandings between partners. “It’s useful in our era to recognize that mistakes do happen; to work through them is an important skill that we have lost,” says Wagner. “Tony’s character causes the problem, but also puts in a great deal of effort to solve it.” Sheppard agrees: “It’s worthwhile to see these characters try to mend.”
Send Me No Flowers promises to be a hilarious and heartwarming production, honoring Joel King’s memory and his enduring impact on the arts community, and reminding us all that laughter can carry us through loss. Many in the cast fondly remember King, known for his TV roles in Rogue Cell (2019) and Legends and Lies (2015), and as Ken Gorman in Arts Enter’s 2018 production of Rumors. “Joel was an amazing human being, so kind, always a joy,” remembers Karla. “It was so sad he left us so early. He had more to do around here.”
Sheppard hopes that the play provides a brief respite. “The theater is a place that unites us. We can come together for the pure appreciation of watching a comedy unfold, and learn something about ourselves and each other.”
WANT TO GO?
“Send Me No Flowers”
November 21-22, 7:30 p.m., and November 23, 3:00 p.m.
Historic Palace Theatre in Cape Charles
Adults $30, students $15
