By CLAIRE STEVENS

Pittsburgh Playhouse’s production of The Bed Trick delivered an entertaining night of modern comedy while loosely following a Shakespeare classic. Written by Keiko Green,the play follows college roommates Harriet (Amalea Krill), Marianne (Quinn Starrett), and Lulu (Chloe Sohngen) as they navigate friendship, relationships, and the recent divorce of Marianne’s parents. When Lulu suspects her long-distance boyfriend, Willis (Caleb Clemons), of cheating, she plans something that unknowingly entangles all the girls in a situation that mirrors Shakespeare’s All’s Well That Ends Well. Meanwhile, Marianne’s parents, Anna (Peyton Collins) and Benny (Griffin Sommers), navigate the consequences of their recent divorce as events from their past come back to haunt them.

Krill gave an especially outstanding performance as Harriet with an excellent grasp of humorous delivery and audience engagement. She delivered a strong opening that pokes fun at the typical lengthy, theme-heavy prologues of Shakespeare’s works. Her storytelling ability in recounting the events of All’s Well That Ends Well was remarkably captivating, and her whimsical portrayal of Harriet kept the audience engaged and laughing throughout the entire show. Portraying a character majoring in theater was also particularly funny, as the jokes about theater stereotypes and the allure of the “big show” resonated with fellow audience members who were on a similar track. From her short-lived attempt to belt “Happy Birthday” to the excitement at the title drop in Act 2, she gave a skillful performance as Harriet and drove the plot with her captivating narration.

The rest of the cast also did an excellent job in their acting and interactions, emphasizing the comedy of the play. Starrett and Sohngen convincingly portrayed Marianne and Lulu as newly found college best friends, and their interactions while drinking, and especially while Lulu helps Marianne on a phone call with Willis, were quite comical. Collins and Sommers as Anna and Benny also had fantastic scenes together, and their dynamic as a recently divorced couple struggling to accept their new reality was both authentic and funny. I found Collins as Anna particularly amusing at the beginning of Act 2, when she drunkenly rambled at the bar and even got the audience to join in on some karaoke. The entire cast came together for the ending of the play, and the ensuing scene was a great culmination of the antics preceding it. From Clemons playing Willis’s comedic confusion to the parents’ reaction to finding out what their daughter Marianne had been hiding, their humorous physical arrangement and dialogue created an appropriate finale for an overall entertaining performance.

While the actors did a fabulous job portraying humor onstage, the audience’s reactions added an even greater layer of entertainment to what they conveyed. As secrets and dramatic announcements were revealed in Act 2, there was no shortage of gasps, laughs, and other reactions of shock from those around me. It was a lot of fun to feel like part of something bigger, with everyone around me visibly and audibly reacting as it happened, and this may have been one of the most engaged audiences I have ever been a part of.

Directed by Anya Hilpert, The Bed Trick was an excellently performed comedy that kept the audience engaged all evening. From the actors to the accurate college dorm set by Barrett Lage, to the choice of music, all the elements came together to create an enjoyable show. As Harriet says in the final remarks, I certainly found something worthwhile in the performance and the community it gathered, and it was beautiful to see all the actors clearly having such a good time onstage while using their talents to provide a memorable evening for the audience as well.

TICKETS AND DETAILS:

The Bed Trick is at the Pittsburgh Playhouse’s Conservatory Theatre Company in the Raugh Theatre from October 14 –25, 2026. Visit: https://playhouse.culturaldistrict.org/production/108868/the-bed-trick

Claire Stevens is a senior English, Communication, and Creative Writing student at Carlow University.

Categories: Arts and Ideas, Reviews

Tags: Anya Hilpert, Barrett Lage, Conservatory Theater Company, Keiko Green, Point Park University's Pittsburgh Playhouse, The Bed Trick