Lawrence Garfinkle is a monster. Crude, lascivious, avaricious and greedy, the chief antagonist in Jerry Sterner’s sharp-sighted play Other People’s Money (played by Keith Baker (pictured),in one of the best performances of the year) is also playful, fun-loving and brutally honest. He’s a likable monster, which makes Other People’s Money such a complex and entertaining ride.
Directed by Elizabeth Craven, the play is a cynical fable for the Occupy generation, the story of a New England company fighting to avoid takeover by the ruthless Garfinkle, a Wall Street businessman known as Larry the Liquidator. Chomping on doughnuts and cackling like a randy rooster, Garfinkle goes head-to-head with the company’s principled president, Andrew Jorgenson (John Craven, excellent), and the fiery-sexy lawyer (Laura Lowry) he hires to outsmart Garfinkle at his own game.
The high-stakes cat-and-mouse action takes place on a clever turntable set that spins from Jorgenson’s cramped New England factory to Garfinkle’s upscale New York office. Timely and troubling, Other People’s Money is wickedly funny, savagely realistic and monstrously good. It runs Thursday–Sunday through Oct. 6 at Main Stage West. 104 N. Main St., Sebastopol. Thursday–Saturday, 8pm; Sunday, 5pm matinee. $17–$25. 707.823.0177.
