Redlands Theatre Festival Bursts Into Summer With Outdoor Comedy and British Farce 

Chaos, mistaken identities and nonstop physical comedy are taking over Prospect Park as the Redlands Theatre Festival launches its 2026 summer season with “One Man, Two Guvnors,” a fast-paced British farce that opened June 26.

The festival’s season runs through Aug. 1 and features five outdoor productions: “One Man, Two Guvnors,” “Men on Boats,” “Native Gardens,” “Blithe Spirit” and “The Drowsy Chaperone.” Tickets and full season information are available at rtfseason.com.

Before opening night, Inland Empire Community News attended the final dress rehearsal for “One Man, Two Guvnors,” where actors prepared to pull audiences into a whirlwind of confusion, slapstick, music, quick timing and one servant desperately trying to keep two employers from discovering each other.

C.J. Armstrong plays Francis Henshall, the frantic servant caught between the show’s two “guvnors.”

“He’s the one man to the two guvnors,” Armstrong said.

Armstrong said the comedy centers on Francis working for two people at once while each believes he is working only for them.

“My character gets confused very easily,” Armstrong said. “He thinks he’s talking to one person when he’s actually talking to another, so chaos ensues. There is a lot of confusion happening on stage.”

The production also draws from commedia dell’arte, a theatrical style known for exaggerated characters, physical comedy and direct audience engagement.

“There’s a lot of audience interaction with my character and a lot of talking directly to the crowd,” Armstrong said.

For Armstrong, who began doing theater at 7 and has performed in the High Desert, New York, San Bernardino, Redlands and Los Angeles, the role marks a major personal milestone. He described Francis as his first lead role carrying a show from beginning to end.

“The most challenging thing for me has been that this is my first lead role in a show where I’m carrying the show,” Armstrong said. “It’s a lot of moving and a lot of running around. By the end of the first act, you definitely see the work on me because I’m a sweaty mess.”

After weeks of rehearsal, Armstrong said opening the show to a live audience is the missing ingredient.

“I’m looking forward to having an audience and knowing where the laughs are,” Armstrong said. “We’ve been running this for about two months, and the people who have seen it already know where the jokes are. We need people with fresh eyes and fresh ears to hear it for the first time.”

His goal for audiences is simple: laughter that lingers.

“I hope they go home tired from laughing,” Armstrong said. “I hope we get some criers, some side splitters — people who are drunk with laughter. I hope they take away how much joy the show brings them.”

Molly Billman plays Rachel and Roscoe Crabbe, a dual role that requires her to portray a woman and a woman disguised as her twin brother.

“It gets a little versatile,” Billman said. “I get to play both genders, which is really cool.”

Billman described Rachel as a “good girl” in love with Stanley, a man who has killed her twin brother, Roscoe. To help Stanley escape, Rachel disguises herself as Roscoe, a mobster-like figure, to collect money from people who owed her brother debts.

“She goes undercover as her twin brother to rack up some money from his old debtors so she and her boyfriend can get out of town,” Billman said.

The role, she said, gives her the chance to stretch across multiple styles within one production.

“You get full versatility in one play,” Billman said. “In one show alone, I get to do Rachel, I get to do Roscoe, and there are a lot of great musical numbers incorporated as well. I get to be a doo-wop singer, so I get to touch a bunch of different things and expand my actor toolkit.”

Billman called the production “a classic British farce,” comparing it to “Twelfth Night” and “Noises Off.” She said the show is less of a whodunit than a “who’s where,” with confusion, accents and constant movement driving the comedy.

“It’s a lively, nonstop comedy,” Billman said. “It has a lot of great accents, and there is so much going on.”

The outdoor setting adds another layer to the festival experience. Billman said rehearsals in Prospect Park often catch the attention of people walking by, especially during fight calls or physical comedy scenes.

“The random passersby always see the craziest stuff,” Billman said. “They might see me with a knife pointing it at someone, or someone getting slapped across the face in the middle of a public park.”

Sometimes, those passersby stop, watch and ask where they can learn more.

“That’s the greatest thing about RTF,” Billman said. “Because it’s in a public park, people just walk by. A lot of people ask where to go or what the website is, and that word of mouth is what keeps places like this alive.”

Both actors said community theater remains important because it gives local audiences affordable access to live performance while offering actors a place to work, grow and belong.

“Theater is a form of expression of the times, and it’s a more immediate expression,” Armstrong said. “There are real people there. It just takes a little kid coming to see a live show and saying, ‘I want to do that,’ just like what happened to me.”

Billman, who is in her first season with the Redlands Theatre Festival, said the company quickly began to feel like a family.

“With RTF, coming back each summer feels like returning to family,” Billman said. “It is a staple in Redlands, and community theater is crucial to the community.”

RTF performances continue multiple nights per week through Aug. 1 at Prospect Park. Tickets are available at rtfseason.com.