Play it Again, Sam
Play it Again, Sam
By Woody Allen
Directed by Frank Hilgenberg
Starring David Strauss and Pamela Stone
Theatre Downtown, Orlando FL</strong>
What a stretch! Allan Felix (Strauss) is the ultimate New York stereotype. Addicted to therapy, nearly divorced and obsessed with old movies, his friends Dick (Tim Bass) and Linda (Stone) work to find him a girl friend. They try the disco (Nikki Lopez), they try the art museum and they even pitch the photographer’s assistant (Jackie Prutsman). But there’s no hope; Allan wears too much cologne, plays pretentious jazz, and quotes camera magazines ads for conversational fodder. His imaginary friend Bogey (Ryan Bathurst) advises him to make a move on Linda while the ghost of his ex-wife Nancy (Rosanna Hurt) continues to hector him. Sliding between fantasy and reality, Allen whines, kvetches and addresses the audience directly. In a word, he’s nerdy, needy and nebbish.
Surrounding his ball of anxiety is a solid cast of comic actors. Tim Bass is the flustered businessman abandoning his wife; he has an obsession with phone numbers and it’s not clear if he’s a brilliant stock trader or an inept real estate speculator. Linda is slight but sexy; she telegraphs her role early if you can catch it: “Do you need any help with the dishes, a bed made?” What a gal! Meanwhile Bogey has put on a few pounds, but he’s still the suave operator we all aspire to, and all of Allans’s other propects are sexy, distant and frosty.
The first act feels like a Woody Allan comedy routine, it’s full of well delivered gags but they are just gags. The second act packs the emotion, Allan and Linda spar with subtexts as Bogey offers the sort of cold-hearted advice you expect from a fedora and a bottle of bourbon. The show is on that curious point where it’s recent enough to feel a bit dated, but not old enough to feel quaint. It’s a lightweight comedy, a sorbet to cleans the palette between the holiday ghost story and the upcoming murder mystery. It’s fun, and should come with a slice of pizza.
For more information on Theatre Downtown, please visit http://www.theatredowntown.net