Through November 1

Well-acted and witty, Eric Coble’s Cleveland-inspired farce, World Class Care, evoked laughs and wry grins last Sunday afternoon at the Beck Center. While you don’t have to be from Cleveland to get all the jokes, it helps.

Director Eric Schmiedl and the cast of six made this world premiere about two corporate giants wrestling for health care dominance real, funny and thought-provoking. In these “gone-are-the-country-doc-who-makes-housecalls” days, corporate health care seems an urgent concern for society.

Set in the far future, the plot centers on the only property in the whole city of Cleveland that either University Hospitals or the Cleveland Clinic does not own. (A premise that’s less of a stretch than it might appear, especially considering that the historically renovated original Cleveland Play House city structure fell to the Cleveland Clinic a few years ago.)

The studio theater set designed by Stacey Constanzo, with lighting by Michael Boll, supports the play’s futuristic setting with angular structures on each side of the stage (red lights on the University Hospital side and blue lights on the Cleveland Clinic side).

In the center we see a cozy living room decorated with handcrafted throws and overstuffed furnishings.

The holdout, Mildred Grigsby (a slyly appealing Christina Johnson), sits in that room like a queen and refuses to sell her historic family home despite threats and temptations. Her adult niece, Yolanda Grigsby (a sweetly loveable Chennelle Bryant-Harris), backs her decision.

The contenders? On the UH side we have Chelsea Pickering (an earnest Carolyn Demaneli). On the Clinic side we have Kyle Carlyle (smooth-talking charmer Joshua McElroy). Both are supported by assistants: Victor Wade (a comically athletic Joe Pine) offers sports analogies to Chelsea as he urges her to fight and hold firm; Garrett Nichols (a humorously bossy Michael J. Montanus) is also busy, filling Kyle’s head with strategies via a headset and holographs. Pine and Montanus also embody other characters as needed.

It’s fast-paced as it switches from one side’s pitch to the other’s. Witty lines and puns abound (all easily heard thanks to Angie Hayes’ sound design). One favorite has to be the classic toss of “misterectomy” alongside “hysterectomy,” but there were plenty more embedded in the dialogue. (I’d like to buy the script.)

And yes, there’s a satisfying surprise conclusion that makes this farce even more laugh out loud. Everyone gets what they deserve—and maybe a little bit more.

Bottom Line: World Class Care, revels in wickedly Cleveland truths enjoyably presented by a world-class cast.