Sold-Out Theater is Smitten by "Servant"

More than 300 people packed into Westmont’s Porter Theatre to watch the two opening performances of “The Servant of Two Masters,” which received standing ovations for its hilarity. Junior Reyn Halford plays the oft-hungry and love-struck Truffaldino with zany, acrobatic perfection. The Westmont Theater Arts Department performs Carlo Goldoni’s 1743 commedia dell’arte masterpiece again Oct. 28 and 30 at 8 p.m. and Oct. 30 at 2 p.m. Tickets, $5 for students and $10 for adults, can be purchased at (805) 565-7140.

This is the first Westmont performance for Halford, who has acted in many other shows, including an acrobatic Chinese-stylized piece that appeared at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Nolan Hamlin, who graduated from Westmont last year, is a surprising standout in his portrayal of the lecherous Pantalone. Hamlin performed in nine Westmont productions and has worked with Lit Moon Theatre Company. He was recently featured in Ratatat Theatre Group’s “Body/Back-Min/Max.”

The street festival that begins a half hour before the show features the brilliant work of Robert Hamel, Westmont’s new theater arts professor. It takes place in the new space outside the theater created during the construction of the Adams Center. Instead of tickets, theater-goers received masks to wear before the show. Noise-makers took the place of applause inside Porter Theatre, where “The Servant” dishes out lots of fun.