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By Aaron Krause
Understandably, William Davis needs an aspirin in the enjoyable farce, There’s a Burglar in My Bed. As often as he gets knocked around, he’s bound to have a splitting headache. But Davis himself is part of an antidote. Indeed, during a time when we sorely need laughter to make us temporarily forget about society’s ills, Parker’s play delivers just the dosage of hilarity we need.
Pembroke Pines Theatre of the Performing Arts (PPTOPA) is presenting the play with impressive energy and comic timing in the company’s theater through this weekend.
The playwright is Michael Parker (1935-2019), an Englishman who wrote American-set farces utilizing traditional British comedic devices.
There’s a Burglar in My Bed is a farce set during the present in a 200-acre estate’s beach cottage in Massachusetts. Supposedly, William Worthington III and his wife are going to be away for the weekend, he to Delaware to shoot ducks with the Duponts and she to her mother’s in Boston. Both have, in fact, arranged trysts with their respective lovers in the estate’s beach cottage. Inevitably, their paths cross and divorce is in the air. Neither is willing to give up the world-famous Worthington necklace, so each devises a plan to steal it. Both burglaries are scheduled for the same night.
The play features mistaken identities, unlikely romantic liaisons, a bumbling private detective, a fake necklace, and two scantily clad pseudo nuns sharing a single skirt. Who has the real necklace and who has the fake one? The real fun lies not in discovering the answer but in experiencing this wacky play with talented performers who make us laugh till it hurts.
Under director Jerry Jensen’s solid guidance, the action never drags, but it doesn’t quite reach outright pandemonium either. However, it’s brisk enough and the comic timing is precise, which is important for a farce. One might expect slamming doors in a farce, but that never happens in this production. To Jensen and his cast’s credit, the actors sincerely play their characters, which enhances the humor.
Much of the production’s physical comedy comes at the expense of private investigator Davis (Brian Shaer). He spends the play being abruptly knocked down, pushed, and shoved. He must feel like a punching bag as he falls, stumbles, and ends up bound and gagged.
At one point, Davis gets a toilet seat wrapped around his neck. It’s not every day that you see a character onstage with bathroom hardware framing his face. He also gets his foot stuck inside a bucket and shuffles around the stage trying to dislodge it. Such physical humor isn’t the only source of comedy here. Verbal humor involving idioms and malapropisms, the mistaken use of words in place of similar-sounding words, also tickle our funny bone. Several times, Davis misuses phrases and says them sincerely, as though he’s sure he’s speaking correctly. Therefore, it’s easy to laugh when, for instance, he says “come water or high hell” instead of “come hell or high water.”
Credit Shaer for playing Davis with sincerity and hubris, which enhances the comedy. After stumbling, he fervently insists that he’s great at his job. It sounds like he wants to convince not only others but himself of his competence.
Aaron Bravo and Lory Reyes demonstrate strong chemistry as two lovers. One recurring phrase between them is “Oh, Ashley,” followed by “Oh, Teddy.” The actors deliver these words with genuine affection. Bravo is believably tense as Teddy, while Reyes is looser and more fun-loving. Though they have contrasting temperaments, they sit close together with their heads near each other and share at least one believable kiss.
Altogether, the cast works effectively by naturally delivering lines, listening to each other, demonstrating deft comic timing, playing their roles sincerely, and always remaining in character. In addition to Shaer, Bravo, and Reyes, the cast includes delightfully comic performances from Marty Fishman as Billy, Ashley Goehmann as Buffy, Amber Teboe as Deborah, and Brooke Lynn White as Marianne.
The action takes place on John Blessed’s bright set which, while spacious, doesn’t suggest the scale of the play’s setting. Still, there is plenty of room for the actors to move (which they do a lot) without having to worry about bumping into something. Bright, inviting colors such as green, yellow, and aqua befit a light comedy such as this play. Artwork on the walls and tasteful furniture lend the space an upscale quality. The place where the family keeps its prized necklace may surprise you. More predictably, as you might expect from a farce, the set includes multiple doors.
A bumbling private investigator, alleged nuns who are either burglars or gurglers (or neither), cheating spouses, and a valuable necklace with a fake counterpart add up to a delightfully daffy afternoon or evening of theater. There’s a Burglar in My Bed doesn’t pretend to solve the world’s problems, make us think deeply, or offer nuance or emotional depth. But it provides more than two hours of escapist entertainment, a much-needed respite from the myriad problems we face in 2026.
There’s a Burglar in My Bed from Pembroke Pines Theatre of the Performing Arts’ runs for four more performances:8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 16, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 17, and 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 18. Performances are at the Susan Katz Theatre at River of Grass Arts Park, 17195 Sheridan St. in Pembroke Pines. Tickets are $40 for adults and $30 for students and seniors. The running time is about two hours, including intermission. Tickets https://our.show/burglar
