That is not to say that the acting is so bad that it is entertaining, but it sort of is — in a good way. Let me explain.

 

The show, written by Paul Rudnick, centers on Andrew Rally, an up-and-coming actor who is coming off a successful television role. He finds himself in a gothic apartment in New York City that was once owned by the legendary actor John Barrymore. He is in town to do a Shakespeare in the Park production of Hamlet, a role Barrymore owned during the time he was warmer than room temperature. The fact that he is dead doesn’t stop the very hammy Hamlet to offering advice to the young actor about to take on the role. Barrymore returns from the great beyond to coach the television actor in the ways of Shakespeare. This is where the acting is so bad it is good comes in since the over-the-top acting during their “lessons” is frighteningly on mark for most actors who take on a work by the Bard.

 

The show shifts into full-on comedy when booze and a cast of supporting characters enter the mix as opening night nears. Every one of the characters brings a little something to the show. Sometimes it’s the overly simplistic fiancée or the hyper agent always on the make for a quick buck or the real estate broker who, well, sells real estate.

 

The set is simple and effective. The whole show takes place in the living room of the haunted apartment so scene changes take seconds, but there are steps to an unseen bedroom that add depth to the stage.

 

I liked the show. My daughter liked the show even though there are some references to sex and coarse language that could have been removed without damaging the script. I didn’t wince. We have cable.

 

What bothered me a bit — and it is something I have mentioned in previous columns — is that the bottles of “wine” that were being chugged down from time to time were clearly empty from the start. I hate that. There should be liquid in the bottles and food on the plates if there is a food scene. Faking it just doesn’t work and brings audiences back to reality instead of in the world of the show. 

Coffee cups should have coffee in them so people in the seats can see the steam. Anything else is just bad staging and lazy since having “live” props like that add complexity to a scene since there are the chewing and swallowing factors to take into account. But that is theater.  

Also on stage

• The community theater staple of Arsenic and Old Lace comes to Gig Harbor. The show has Mortimer Brewster, a New York critic of both drama and marriage, finally finding himself facing a gold band around his finger as he prepares to wed Elaine Harper, the girl next door. Before heading off for an evening at the theater with his new bride-to-be, Mortimer stops in to deliver the news to his aunts, Abby and Martha Brewster, two sweet little old ladies who donate toys to charity and care for their nephew, Teddy, a bugle blowing rider of the short bus who thinks he’s Theodore Roosevelt. Mortimer soon discovers that his dear old aunties are less than all sugar and spice since they just happen to have a dozen bodies buried in the basement.
  
   


• Lakewood Playhouse has opened its 70th season with a sidesplitter of a show that can be best described as Weekend at Bernie’s and Casablanca with a little bit of music and gambling thrown into the mix. Lucky Stiff, by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, is a gasser. The show, directed by Micheal O’Hara, is one of those shows that is just fun to see. It’s not great theater, but it is a solid day of entertainment. 

[Olympia Little Theatre, I Hate Hamlet, through Oct. 5, 7:55 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, 1:55 p.m. Sunday, $10-$12 available at Yenney Music Co. on Harrison Avenue (360.943.7500) or at www.buyolympia.com/ events, 1925 Miller Ave. N.E., Olympia, olympialittletheater.org]

[Paradise Theatre, Arsenic and Old Lace, through Oct. 5, 7:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 3 p.m. Sunday, $15-$18, 9911 Burnham Dr. N.W., Gig Harbor, 253.851. PLAY, www.paradisetheatre.org]

[Lakewood Playhouse, Lucky Stiff, through Oct. 5, 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday, $21-$24, 5729 Lakewood Towne Center Blvd. S.W. in the Lakewood Towne Center off exit 125, Lakewood, www.lakewoodplayhouse.org]