"She should rest in peace!"It's an unusual comment to hear, regardless of context, but it's one uttered regularly by 73-year-old Abe Dreyfus in the Brandeis Players' production of Marhsall Karp's Squabbles. The phrase is not one that specifically stands out in this comedy, but it's one that describes the sentiment of the play particularly well. The theme of Squabbles needs little further explanation than the one already provided by the title, but to quell your curiosity, Squabbles follows the tormented lives of married 30-something couple Alice and Jerry Sloan, whose irascible single parents, Abe and Mildred, come to live with them in their home in Connecticut. The cast also includes Hector, the Puerto Rican gardener and family friend; Mr. Wasserman, a senile retired pharmacist and neighbor; and Mrs. Fisher, nanny to the Sloans' newborn baby.

Abe lives by the philosophy that squabbling is healthy: "An argument a day keeps the doctor away," he says. His daughter, however, would rather have the peace that Abe seems only willing to grant to the deceased, while Jerry seems too amused by his own eccentricities to pay attention to Abe's contentious behavior. Beck Holden '08 captures the crabbiness and mannerisms most young people would imagine an elderly former New York cab driver to have, but what makes his performance exceptionally impressive is his unwavering commitment to and consistency in playing Abe. Even as Rachael Barr '10, who plays Mildred, was caught off-guard by an on-stage wardrobe malfunction early on, Holden was unruffled and managed to improvise a quip in the midst of the unintended humor. This isn't to say that Barr didn't handle herself well either during the mishap or otherwise. Her physicality stood out and drew laughs throughout the show, but at times, her comedy was not controlled and was overly expressive in moments that could have benefited from subtlety.

The other leads, Rachel Kurnos '08 and Jake Yarmus '10, kept up with the constantly bickering duo and proved to be just as amusing a pair. Though Kurnos' character, Alice, possessed less oddities than the rest of the group, Kurnos managed to endow her with a deep complexity, making Alice a pleasant distraction from the other outlandish characters. According to Yarmus' bio, "He is very much like the character he will be playing this afternoon/evening," which must be true, considering how nuanced and natural was his portrayal of Jerry. In moments when Yarmus burst into giggles, it was unclear as to whether the action was reflex or direction, but it somehow didn't matter-either way, it seemed like something Jerry would do.

Karp's Squabbles is unambiguously and singularly a comedy. Whatever attempts the play makes to stray from its comedic elements come off as unnatural and forced. The scene in which Mildred and Abe have a heart-to-heart discussion is almost monotonous, aiming to convince the audience of their multiple dimensions, and managing instead to draw attention to the striking fireplace and the sound accompanying the effect, which provided a realistic feel to the rather unmoving scene. The play shoots for convenience and closure, which are appropriate elements in a comedy, especially one with an abundance of strong characters and humorous quips. During the show, there were plenty of moments when it seemed the entire audience was laughing, and coming out of the show, it was hard not to be in a good mood.

Squabbles delivers what it intended to provide: a funny show. As simple as that seems, consider all of the "funny shows" that fail to be widespread successes, falling instead into the category of "cult favorites." Squabbles does not ask for sophisticated analysis or inspire self-reflection; it just wants to make you laugh. That effort alone deserves some praise, not to mention the kind it deserves for its successful execution.