The Town Players of Newtown have opened their 2019 season on a note of raucous humor a la British farce. Ray Cooney’s Funny Money is a rollicking good time of a show.

On his way home to celebrate his birthday, the very staid and reliable Henry Perkins (played by Christopher Bird) inadvertently picks up the wrong briefcase. The contents hijack the celebration meticulously planned by his anxious wife, Jean (Kimberly Marcus).

Anticipating a quiet dinner party with a couple of old friends, Betty and Vic Johnson (Thursday Savage and Peter Haynes respectively), Henry’s serendipitous instant wealth calls upon the Perkinses and their friends to embark on a series of lies and deceits in order to hang onto the loot and stay out of jail.

The plot thickens as Davenport (Brian De Toma), a local law enforcement type with some questionable motives, worms his way into the action. Slater (Eric Greenfield), another detective of some sort, finds Henry’s real briefcase and construes a story that sends the two couples into a tailspin of new cover-ups.

Interloping and persistent taxi driver Bill (Tom Torpey) inadvertently gets in on the action as he waits to take Henry and Jean to the airport in order to affect their getaway. In the haste and confusion, he bumps his cab into a passerby (Chris Cooney), who has a major interest in the briefcase that has set all the antics in motion.

This may sound like utter mayhem, because it is. The energy exerted by the cast is impressive, captivating, and thoroughly entertaining. The opening night audience laughed throughout the performance and continued to chuckle on their way out the door.

In the role of Henry, Christopher Bird again puts his substantial acting chops on display. His skill and expertise make this kind of comedy look easy, which it is not.

Bird perfectly portrays the complexities of the traditional, bread-winning conformist seduced into a crime that offers him a total life change. He goes for it, weaving an outrageous web of lies as the he persists. He is a hoot.

Poor Jean is apoplectic in her reaction to this new Henry. Kimberly Marcus does a great job of keeping up a constant state of frenzy and panic. She is entirely convincing in this role.

Thursday Savage offers a complete antidote to the hysterical Jean, playing Betty with a cool demeanor, as if she was born for a life of intrigue. She is smooth, and Ms Savage renders her very well.

On the other hand, Vic is not so comfortable in the role of accomplice. Peter Haynes is convincing in his befuddlement as his character plays along. After all, Henry is a good friend. Mr Haynes is very funny.

Tom Torpey, Brian DeToma, Eric Greenfield, and Christopher Cooney are all superb as they move in and out of the apartment, completely upsetting the apple cart and changing the course of action, inadvertently, like taxi driver Bill, or very intentionally, like mysterious man in a trench coat, Davenport.

Everyone on stage appeared to be having a blast, and as a result, the audience did as well. Treat yourself to an evening of lies and laughter done to perfection by this skilled cast, under the direction of a master of the farce, Gene Golaszewski.

Performances continue weekends through June 8, with curtain each Friday and Saturday at 8 pm, and Sundays, May 26 and June 8 at 2 pm.

Visit [naviga:u]newtownplayers.org[/naviga:u] or call 203-270-9144 for ticket details and reservations. The Town Players perform at The Little Theatre, 18 Orchard Hill Road in Newtown.