By J.E. Tomlin

The Pearce High School Theater Department kicked off its season with “Love, Lies, and the IRS,” a hilarious comedy that opened last night in the Black Box Theatre. 
The show revolves around Leslie, played by senior Brett Thiele, who discovers that the IRS thinks he’s a woman. The mix-up is due to the fact that his roommate Jon, portrayed by Clark Jones, has been claiming they are a married couple to save money on taxes.Jon’s scheme falls apart when the IRS gets suspicious and sends an agent to investigate. 
“When I read the script and saw that Leslie spends most of the show pretending to be a woman, I decided that was the role I wanted to tackle,” said Thiele, 17. “I go on stage as a man, then in a mad rush I have to transform myself into a woman and get back on stage – then my girlfriend shows up and I have to change back to being a man in 15 seconds. I run backstage, smear cold cream on my face, get in a bathrobe and turn into a woman again. It’s a mad rush the entire time.”
The show is a madcap 90 minutes filled with sight gags, misunderstandings and lots of laughs, which is why director Lynn Shaw picked the show.“It’s a funny, light-hearted comedy. I played the role of the mom 10 years ago. I pulled it off the shelf and thought it would fit the cast of kids I had to work with – and it sure does,” Shaw said. “Brett is having a lot of fun with the role – he’s not supposed to be a pretty woman. He doesn’t have a clue how to be a girl.”
Clark Jones, 18, plays Jon Tractman, the mild-mannered accountant whose money-saving scheme backfires, and Marisa Huber, a sophomore, is cast as Kate, his fiancée. “I’m in the middle of a love triangle,” Huber said. “I’m engaged to marry Jon, but I’m dating Leslie behind his back.”
Steven Miller, 18, is cast as the IRS auditor, and Taylor Daniel portrays Jon’s mother, who arrives unexpectedly to help plan her son’s wedding. Junior Anna Dirkx, 17, plays Connie, Leslie’s clueless girlfriend.
The cast also includes Jay Moran, who plays the nosy landlord, and Brendon Williams who arrives to perform a last-minute wedding.Assistant directors are Michelle McCoy and Chandler Reeves.
Performances are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday in the Black Box Theatre, next to the auditorium at Pearce High School. General admission tickets are $8, and students and senior citizens are $6. For more information, see pearcetheater.com.

J.E. Tomlin is the mother of Pearce student Marisa Huber.