Our Fall 2009 production of Moss Hart and George Kaufman's "You Can't Take It With You" was a great success. Congratulations to all cast and crew members, and especially to the parent volunteers who helped throughout the production process.

Plot Summary:

This play is more than the hilarious comedy about a madcap family that it at first appears to be. Beneath the funny antics of the Sycamore family, led by sage Grandpa Vanderhof, lies a "meditation on the problems of individuality, conformity, and the ways in which one decides to live one's life," to quote one reviewer. The plot concerns the extended Vanderhof family, who all live in a large house owned by Grandpa, a man who left his successful career in the business world to pursue more relaxing activities on his own time. His daughter Penny took up playwriting because a typewriter was mistakenly delivered to the house, while her husband manufactures fireworks in the basement with the help of Mr. DePinna, a man who came to the door to deliver something and ended up staying for seven years. Clearly, this household is anything but normal.

Penny and Paul have two daughters that live in the house: Essie, who dances ballet as her husband Ed Carmichael plays xylophone, and Alice, the sole "normal" member of the family - she works as a secretary. When she becomes involved with the boss' son, Tony Kirby, the Vanderhof family is quick to welcome him. Not so for his parents (Anthony W. and Miriam Kirby), who are brought to dinner at the Vanderhof house on the wrong evening. Predictably, complications ensue - but the plot is only half the value of this play. The unforgettable characters each carry their own rich wisdom and outlook on life, and the philosophy of the play is perhaps best summed up by Grandpa Vanderhof as such: "Life is kind of beautiful," he says, "if you just let it come to you."

With wit, wisdom, and a core of pure imagination, this play is a must-see for the entire Boca Raton community.