After a recent performance, many will undoubtedly talk about the comedic success of “More Fun than Bowling,” a light-hearted look at life, love and levity.

Playwright Steven Dietz masterfully intertwines more than a lifetime supply of bowling metaphors into the conundrums facing Jake Tomlinson, played by Frank Taylor Green, an eccentric small-town fellow who is convinced, after the untimely death of his second and third wives, that he’s next … according to “people who know things.”

Eerily humorous symbolism places the entire play in one setting – a cemetery – where past and present weave together to tell the story of Jake’s first, second and third loves and how he loses them, while he narrowly evades the mysterious briefcase-and-handgun-toting Mr. Dyson, played by Mike Ostroski. Dietz’s sequencing is brilliant as the action segues seamlessly between past and present, each character communicating the back story to the audience on a personal level.

Each member of the tight-knit cast adds a unique and lovable character to the story. Each actor was seemingly born for the respective roles. With “More Fun than Bowling,” one is absorbed into the story because the actors onstage are not plainly and obviously acting – they are the characters in this story.

Rebecca Reinhardt and Amy Baldwin, as Jake’s wives Lois and Loretta respectively, exude the inimitable chemistry of best friends who each subsequently fall for Jake’s blue-collar charm and, appropriately, exude much the same chemistry with Green.

Meredith Autry Holcomb’s passion for life as Jake’s daughter Molly illustrates her essential role as both the last important thing in his life and the last lingering connection to his long-lost first wife, Maggie. In a single breath, she is his blessing and his unwitting curse, both feeding and fighting his comic paranoia.

Family prevails, however, in a poignant presentation peppered liberally with humor, just to make sure the audience sounds significantly awkward – laughing huskily with tears drying on their cheeks and lumps in their throats. “More Fun than Bowling” elicits all the emotions of a clever family comedy.

As a peripheral character, Ostroski’s delightfully deadpan delivery racks the audience with resplendent hilarity at each of his automotive-themed analyses, spastic offstage dashes, and even a full meal break onstage during the intermission.  As Mr. Dyson might describe the play in his automotive frame of reference:

It’s quite similar to the feeling one gets when driving a brand-new Porsche: One sheds tears for the beauty of the automobile, then laughs aloud for the joy of the ride.

Additionally, as part of a Barter tradition, the audience member who traveled farthest on a first visit to the theatre – Friday’s winner came from San Diego – won several certificates for desserts and souvenirs in Abingdon.

For additional show times during the Virginia Highlands Festival and for other Barter presentations, call the box office at (276) 628-3991, or check our schedule of festival events.