‘Tour de Farce’ fast and crazy

Talk about a quick-change act.

In “Tour de Farce,” opening tonight at CenterStage Dinner Theatre, Troy Nickerson has 22 costume changes and Kathie Doyle Lipe has 24.

And that’s only before intermission.

“It’s insane,” said Nickerson about this door-slamming farce. “Kathie and I play all the parts – we each play five different roles. I’ve had challenging roles before, but this is extreme.”

The two main characters in this Philip LaZebnik-Kingsley Day comedy are Herb and Rebecca Gladney. Herb has written a self-help book titled “Marriage is Forever,” and the couple is in a hotel room on a tour promoting the book.

The problem: Their own marriage is not forever. They have to pretend that they are happy through a round of TV interviews and other events.

Both actors, two of Spokane’s most popular, are constantly going out the door and coming back in as someone else. Nickerson plays, among other characters, both a senator and his wife. Doyle Lipe plays both the senator’s bimbo and a nun.

Meanwhile, the actors have to keep performing even while making frantic costume changes.

“Any time we’re offstage, we’re still having conversations with ourselves or with someone onstage,” said Nickerson.

The tiny backstage area at CenterStage is bound to get crowded. There will be five people back there to help with costumes and props.

Thomas Heppler directs.

“It’s perfect for dinner theater,” said Nickerson. “It’s two people, it’s fast and it’s crazy.”