Sunday, August 18, 1996
Mann's comic timing adds a critical element to the vitality of the play By Jeana Blackman
Summer Bruin Contributor
From the moment you walk into the Hudson Theatre you instantly feel at home. The 99-seat house puts you in an intimate setting for a wonderfully personal production of Neil Simon's "Broadway Bound," the final play of the Brighton Beach Trilogy.
The set is the first thing that catches your eye and set designer Jonathan Hagans has used the small space imaginatively to create an incredibly detailed two-story set. He cleverly elevates the back half of the stage and uses a compressed staircase, complete with banister, to great effect. The result is a delightfully comfortable setting that's perfect for just such a play.
The story is relatively simple. Two brothers, Eugene (Alex Craig Mann) and Stanley (Jason Wolk) are struggling to succeed as a comedy-writing team. In the midst of this, their parents, Kate (Hildy Brooks) and Jack (Art Metrano) are trying to keep their marriage together. Add in a stubbornly socialist grandfather, Ben (Buck Kartalian), who lives in the same household and things start getting a little crazy.
"Broadway Bound" is a serious comedy that touches on themes of trust, devotion, faithfulness and love. The cast handles both sides of the coin with ease, making each of their stories completely engaging.
One technique for getting the audience involved is to have the main character, Eugene, speak to the audience directly, which is exactly what Simon does. These little asides give you just a bit more insight into the lives of the characters and sometimes reveal much more than they may intend. For instance, at one point during a conversation with his grandfather, Eugene turns and tells the audience that his grandfather is always funny when he doesn't mean to be and that he was his greatest comedic teacher of all time. In this small comment we see the true affection Eugene has for his grandfather and suddenly these characters become real people.
Mann handles these asides beautifully, just as he does the rest of the play. His charm and ease onstage are delightful and he truly energizes every scene that he's in. His sincerity and believability, as well as superb comic timing carry the show, as when he's trying to decide whether to go out on a date or finish a sketch for an audition the next day.
Metrano puts in a good turn as Jack, the hard-working, unhappy father who's wondering if there is more to life than what he has and his moment with the grandfather is moving. Ellen Gerstein, as the wealthy daughter Blanche, has a great scene where she tries to convince her father Ben to move to Florida to be with his wife, which he stubbornly refuses to do because it would be against his socialist principles to be comfortable when others are suffering.
The key to all of this is Simon's writing. The characters are all wonderfully complex and full, and it's even more of a joy to watch if you remember these people from "Brighton Beach Memoirs" and "Biloxi Blues."
The staging by director Gary Blumsack is generally up-tempo with a great use of the entire space, which is why it's a shame that some of the more important scenes are so poorly blocked. At one point, Blanche and her father spend several minutes of a conversation side-by-side on the couch during the debate over his moving to Florida.
Despite a few relatively minor setbacks, this play soars. Anyone who's ever had a family won't want to miss this intimate, hilariously funny, and highly emotional roller coaster of a production.
THEATER: "Broadway Bound" directed by Gary Blumsack. Hudson Theatre, 6539 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood. Friday & Saturday 8 p.m., Sunday 2 p.m. & 7 p.m. through Sept. 8. TIX: $20 general; $15 students/seniors. For info and reservations call (213) 660-8587.