Young woman finds herself moving back home with dysfunctional family

Photo courtesy Andrew Cummings: Sarah Smith (left) as “Grace” rehearses a scene with Annalisa Tkacheff as “Sherry” in Limelight Theater’s “Tigers Be Still.”

By Marty Cheek

Lots of laughs will be heard at the Limelight Theater in downtown Gilroy as South Valley Civic Theatre opens the comedy play “Tigers Be Still” Friday, May 6.

“We are so pleased to kick off 2022 with this impactful and hilarious show,” said the show’s producer Robin Bezanson. “We have such an amazing cast who bring so much life and laughter to this play.”

“Tigers Be Still” follows the misadventures of a young woman who finds herself moving back home with her dysfunctional family as she searches fruitlessly for a job.

Andrew Cumming directs the show.

Limelight newcomer Annalisa Tkacheff as “Sherry” leads the cast with a sharp wit and indefatigable optimism, Cumming said.  “Like the best comedians, she’s so, so smart, and she strikes a beautiful balance between Sherry’s very real struggle and laughing so hard your sides hurt,” he said.

Sarah Smith, as “Grace,” is the play’s wildcard. She caught her boyfriend cheating on her, and now she’s mad, she’s drunk, and she’s ready for some mean karaoke.

“Sarah‘s genius is that she embodies the kind of unbridled rage we all wish we could unleash sometimes,” Cumming said. “She’s the comedic powerhouse of the cast, and I love how you never know what she’s going to do next.”

Gannon Janisch returns to Limelight as “Zack.” The actor is hilarious, but his authenticity is what really shines, Cumming said.  “He’s just a normal kid who has experienced real tragedy, but that doesn’t stop him from pushing Sherry’s buttons and waxing poetic on why he loves working at CVS,” he said.

Bruce Pember as “Principal Moore” is a Limelight veteran and audience favorite. “It’s a pleasure to see a talented actor return again and again in different roles, and I think the audience is really going to love seeing yet another side of Bruce,” Cumming said. “Somehow Bruce manages to squeeze the biggest laughs out of the darkest situations.”

The show’s story is about people stuck in a rut while being trapped in a house, he said. When the cast first rehearsed this play in preparation for a 2020 opening, they had no idea that they, too, would spend the next two years trapped in their homes with the pandemic, he said.

“’Tigers Be Still’ is hilarious because it’s all too real,” he said. “Having lived through COVID quarantines, we can all relate to how depressing that was. But we can also relate to how awkward, and hilarious, the first few steps back out of the house can be.”

The characters have been through dark times, but they are determinedly hopeful as they try to leave the nest, he said. The audience gets to laugh alongside them when things go awry.

“Of course, they don’t know they’re funny; but that makes it all the more hilarious,” Cumming said. “As our lead, Sherry, says: ‘I hope this will be an inspirational tale of triumph!’”

Cumming encourages local residents to attend the show because the magic of theater is all about taking the audience to new places, exposing them to different perspectives and lives they haven’t lived.

Art is just as good when it helps people process and laugh about their own tough times. “Tigers Be Still” is laugh-out-loud funny because it helps audiences look right into the darkness and find a reason to laugh in its face, he said.