Domestic drama could use more depth
Playwright James Sherman is frequently billed as "the Neil Simon of (Chicago's) Lincoln Avenue." His comedy Half and Half finds itself far from its provenance, playing at Souderton's Montgomery Theater, but that distance is measured less in mileage than by its execution.
Playwright James Sherman is frequently billed as "the Neil Simon of (Chicago's) Lincoln Avenue." His comedy
Half and Half
finds itself far from its provenance, playing at Souderton's Montgomery Theater, but that distance is measured less in mileage than by its execution.
Evoking Simon, of course, implies a fair amount of ethnic (Jewish) humor, coupled with issues domestic and nostalgic. Sherman delivers these on all fronts, with a nuclear family - mom, dad, daughter - arguing in their kitchen in 1970, and then 35 years later, the daughter as head of her own household. However, while the Simon foundation is in place, Sherman's structure is pretty flimsy.
Unlike an episode of Mad Men, where unhappy couples of the past allow present audiences to appreciate the timeless appeal of an existential crisis, in Sherman's first act, the unhappy housewife (Amy Walton as Susan) tells us nothing new while quoting Betty Friedan and going braless, as her rigid husband (Joe Guzman as Stewart) stews until a sudden plot twist lets him explode. The second act is worse, with one argument between contemporary Lucy (Walton again) and husband Jeremy (Guzman) so contrived: Are the lyrics to the Foundations' "Baby, Now That I've Found You," "I can" or "I can't" let you go? And what are their implications either way? It makes the idea that a broken window over the sink could stay broken for 35 years (clearly, Sherman has never washed a dish) seem downright plausible.
Another problem is that director Tom Quinn robs this production of its roots, with Jeremy's Dick van Dyke aspirations missing the humor inherent in this assimilationist fantasy. And if we're supposed to believe the discussion of remediation for daughter Katie's (Sarah Raimondi) potential "deviated septum" for a second, it would help mightily - the joke and the production's credibility - if the actress portraying her didn't have a cute, straight little nose. Though Raimondi brings a fine teenage surliness to her roles, these are supposed to be Jews onstage talking about a nose job. Hire an actress who's got the requisite olfactory sight gag, or pick a different play.
Walton never gives Sherman's mothers the third dimension they so sorely need, though Guzman somehow manages to express range and depth within the confines he has been given. And at its core, that is what's missing here, a sense that, as in those Mad Men episodes, between the limits of cultural constraints, there's a world of depth to explore. Too bad Half and Half remains on the surface.
Half and Half
Playing at: Montgomery Theater,
124 Main St., Souderton.
Through Sat., Dec. 4. Tickets: $24-$35. Information: 215-723-9984 or www.montgomerytheater.org.
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