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PowPAC’s ‘Bedside Manners’ opens Friday

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PowPAC, Poway’s Community Theatre, is finishing its 2015-16 season with the British farce “Bedside Manners,” opening Friday.

The show, written by Derek Benfield, will run for five weekends, closing Sunday, June 5. Performances are 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays.

“Bedside Manners” is a show of mistaken identify and star-crossed lovers, said Brent Stringfield, PowPAC’s artistic director and the show’s director.

“It’s about two couples who come to a remote hotel to have affairs, but they’re married to each other,” said Stringfield. “The innkeeper is left to try and keep them from discovering each other.”

The show stars William Parker Shore as Roger, Tyler Richards Hewes as Ferris the innkeeper, Tamaz Bolkvadze as Geoff, Lucinda Moaney as Sally and Amy Stanley as Helen.

“All of the cast are strong, with very diverse backgrounds,” said Stringfield. “Some are locally trained, some on the East Coast, and one trained at the Russian Academy of Theatre Arts in Moscow. They bring a lot of talent to the show. It’s great as a director to be able to collaborate.”

Building the set, which includes two hotel rooms on a platform and a hotel lobby “downstairs” was a challenge due to PowPAC’s small stage, said Stringfield. “There was a lot of custom building to make it believable, but we had a great design team.”

Despite the theme of infidelity, Stringfield said the show ends on a happy note with everyone back with who they belong. “It’s a great escape,” said Stringfield. “It’s two hours of nonsense-filled fun. You can leave the woes of everyday life at the door and escape into someone else’s problems for laughs.”

Stringfield said PowPAC chose to produce “Bedside Manners” because its audience enjoys comedies and farces.

It also provides PowPAC the unique opportunity to produce its sequel, “Funny Business,” as its first show in the 2016-17 season, which opens in July.

Stringfield said it was a financial and artistic decision, as “Funny Business” will reuse the same set as “Bedside Manners” and will also feature Hewes returning as the beleaguered Ferris, still running his sister’s seedy hotel and dealing with new guests.

“It’s the first time PowPAC will be doing a show and its sequel back-to-back,” said Stringfield.

In addition to “Funny Business,” PowPAC’s 2016-17 season includes the suspenseful play “Dangerous Obsession,” “Christmas Belles,” the comedic drama “Mothers and Sons,” “Over the Tavern” and the comedy “Nana’s Naughty Knickers.”

Tickets are $22 general admission, $20 students, seniors and active duty military, and are available online at powpac.org. There is a $2 surcharge for opening night, which includes a post-performance reception with the cast.

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