The second time’s the charm
by Michael Dresdner
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Neil Simon’s semi-autobiographical play Chapter Two, now at
Tacoma Little Theatre, is in turns a funny, tender, anguished, poignant story
of love the second time around. The script is reputedly based on the playwright’s
meeting with and marriage to Marsha Mason shortly after his first wife died.
Under the direction of Alyson Soma, an ensemble cast of four
outstanding actors soars in this superbly written play. Simply put, this
production is magnificent, all the way around.
George Schneider (Robert Alan Barnett) is coming off the
perfect 12-year marriage after losing the love of his life to cancer. He’s not ready
to move on, but that doesn’t stop his well-meaning brother Leo (Kent Phillips) from
arranging dates for him. Across town, Jennie Malone (Brynne Garman), recently
divorced after a bad six year marriage, is similarly pushed into dating by her
friend Faye Medwick (Holly Rose). Curiously, the two matchmakers, Leo and Faye,
are in unhappy marriages and exorcise their demons with an extra-marital
dalliance or two.
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Kent Phillips, Holly Rose
When George and Jennie reluctantly meet, the sparks are
immediate. We get to watch the awkwardness, joy, and witty repartee of a
clever, well-matched couple doing the mating dance while dashing headlong into
almost immediate wedding plans.
However, George’s baggage soon catches up with him. He
begins to derail this near perfect love out of fear that embracing this joy means
being untrue to his mourning, and to the memory of his equally perfect deceased
wife. As his anguish engulfs him, stalwart and loving Jennie tries to find the
right words, and the right way, to prevent this new love from shattering.
An ideal ensemble cast, and this surely is one, contains
actors who are excellent at crafting their characters on their own, but who
also have seamless and dynamic chemistry with one another.
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Barnett convincingly goes through the ups, downs, and doubts of coping with both loss and love, pairing beautifully with Phillips, as his adroitly played, upbeat, somewhat cavalier brother Leo. Similarly, Garman and Rose, each ideal in their individual characters, share an almost sisterly bond that rivals that of the men.
Brynne Garman, Holly Rose
Barnett and Garman, as the newly enamored couple, are
thoroughly convincing and a delight to watch together. Truth be told, there is
more than a trace of Marsha Mason, on whom the character is based, in Garman’s
strong and deeply devoted Jennie.
A clever and well-designed split set, built by Blake R. York
and designed by Curt Hetherington and Bill Huls (who also did lighting and
sound design, respectively) lets us see George’s and Jennie’s apartments side
by side, merging as if by magic in a shared sofa, with lighting used to focus
our attention on wherever the action is. Michele Graves does a fine job with
costumes (the 1977 play is moved to more or less the present time) using them
to help delineate the personalities of the characters. Ditto for Jeffrey Weaver’s
props, again, deftly expressing the personalities of the apartments’ owners.
The last word? A great script, a terrific cast, and unfailing
offstage support have joined to create a completely delightful theatre
experience, and one you definitely should not miss.
Chapter Two
March 14th to March 30th, 2014
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