Playgoers of Lethbridge will be having a bit of fun in a hotel room for their October dinner theatre, Neil Simon’s “London Suite,”  which runs Oct. 17-20 at the Sandman Inn.
Rita Peterson directs the British comedy which features four unique scenes taking place in the same suite in the Connault Hotel in London.

“The first piece is about a writer and novelist who confronts his crooked and desperate agent who stole his life savings,” described stage manager Josh Hammerstedt. The scene stars Playgoers of Lethbridge veteran Jeff Graham and newcomer Mat Smerek, who played Lysander in this summer’s Shakespeare in the Park’s production of Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Smerek is glad to be back on stage. Before playing Lysander in Shakespeare in the Park, he hadn’t acted since graduating from Catholic Central High School in 2008.

“It feels like I ’m doing what I should be doing. I’m not even sure why I stopped,” Smerek said.

“I just love being on stage. It’s just such a rush like bungee jumping or skydiving, but this is more for me,” he said. He said he is enjoying rehearsing his scene in an intimate group with Jeff Graham, stage manager Josh Hammerstedt, costumer Shirley Kopitske and director Rita Peterson who saw him perform in Midsummer Night’s Drem and asked him to audition.

“It’s a small and very close group,” he said.

 While he wasn’t familiar with the play “London Suite,” he was familiar with Neil Simon’s work as he was in a high school production of Simon’s “Brighton Beach Memoirs.”

He is enjoying acting with Jeff Graham, who acts in a plethora of productions all over southern Alberta.
“Jeff is fantastic,” Smerek said.

“ I met him through Shakespeare, If I was in any play I’d want it to be with him,” he enthused.
 Smerek is enjoying the comedy of his scene and his character, Billy.
“Basically he’s an accountant. He’s a desperate criminal who steals from his client and friend. He’s basically a good person, but when he tries to do something bad, he can’t do it properly,” Smerek described adding he still tries to get things to work any way he can.

“If it were a serious drama, he’d be like Allan Rickman with a German accent, but it’s a comedy,” he said.

The second scene, starring Jane Meaker and Naomi Snelgrove is about a daughter trying to set up her mother with a wealthy Scottish businessman.

“She’s trying to help her mother move on after the loss of her husband by setting her up on an incredible casual date,” Hammerstedt described.

the third scene, the most serious scene of the four has presented a few challenges for the first time stage manager. They have had to recast a couple times but have an outstanding cast in Neil Boyden, Elaine Jagielski and Marcie Stork. It is about a divorced couple — an actress, and her ex-husband who needs money for the medical bills of his lover.
The last scene is flat out hilarious, with a lot of slapstick as it is about an American couple who are visiting London for the Wimbledon tennis tournament until they misplace their tickets and the protagonist has back troubles.

“It’s a frenetic comedy of errors as the staff try to solve the problem of the man trapped on the floor because of back injuries,” Hammerstedt described. That scene has the biggest cast of all four scenes including Kate Connolly, Ross Bruinsma, Shelley David, Ed Bayly and Richard Amery.

He has never been stage manager for a play before, but noted the director and cast have made it easy for him.
 “It’s going to be great. We have a phenomenal director with a terrific cast. So this play is going to turn out great,” he enthused.
“It gets  funny every time,” he said.

 The cast has been rehearsing  for London Suite since August.
It is a dinner theatre catered by Country Kitchen. Tickets cost $45 for the show, which begins at 6:30 p.m.each night at the Sandman Inn.