Skilled actors Jenny O'Hara and Nick Ullett turn Stephen Sachs' short, slight comedy, Bakersfield Mist, into something of a romp, thanks to their highly polished, hilarious performances. The set-up is this: foul-mouthed, trailer-trash Maude Gutman (O'Hara) believes a painting she bought for $3 at a garage sale is really a Jackson Pollack original worth $30 million. Snobby Brit art appraiser Lionel Percy (Ullett) shows up to evaluate the work. A battle ensues, with Lionel calling the painting a fake, Maude defending it. The argument over art, class, truth and life soon becomes heated and angry, then profane and physical.
Bakersfield Mist is essentially a one-joke play, but O'Hara and Ullett do wonders with the joke, squeezing every possible bit of humor out of it. Their performances are comic gems that sparkle brightly and deflect attention from the play's thinness and dubious plot turns. In this case, funny really is money.
