Review Preview: "Chapter Two"

Another Review Preview, which, in the Courier News context, is probably the final subjective word on the subject since I doubt the Courier will have room for this "out-of-area review." Daily Record readers can pick it up on Friday.

Abstract: Pretty good and served as a reminder of how great Niel Simon really is. "It really holds up, doesn't it?" said artistic director Eric Hafen. I had to agree. After so many years and so many plays, we take Simon for granted, but as the years pass, we have the perspective to appreciate the timelessness of his work.

Here we go:

As construction continues on the expansion of the Morris Museum and its companion Bickford Theatre, artistic director Eric Hafen is contemplating the next chapter for his professional theater company. Season 13 will begin in the fall, with a new lobby and expanded offerings, including a fifth main-stage production.

But first, Season 12 wraps up with “Chapter Two,” a sweet slice of Neil Simon comedy that is holding up quite well after 30 years (this production reflects the modest, modern polish of the 1996 revival).

Veteran director Ted Sod has assembled a cast of convincing professional actors, who play believable characters experiencing a believable romance. The warmth and comedy—which flows liberally through the first act, then takes a rest in the second—comes not only from Simon’s zippy one-liners, but from our ability to easily identify with these people.

A lot of playwrights can find drama in their own life, but only Simon can find humor in his most intimate sorrow. Standing in for the playwright is George Schneider (Paul Mantell), a writer we meet during an extended period of mourning following the death of his beloved wife, Barbara. His younger brother, Leo (Gary Littman), a fast-talking press agent, means well, but George isn’t ready to get on with his life, much less entertain the bad dates Leo fixes him up with.
Leo’s finally gets it right when he matches George with Jennie (Robin Marie Thomas), a successful actress just out of an unsuccessful marriage. George calls her by mistake, but an amusingly awkward series of phone calls leads to a whirlwind romance.

As George and Jennie quickly announce their engagement, Leo frets that things are moving too fast. His own unhappy marriage may be motivating him to save his brother from a terrible mistake.

“The trouble with marriage is that it’s relentless,” he says. “Every day you wake up and its still there.”

Leo’s path of philandering leads him to Jennie’s best friend, Faye (Katrina Ferguson of Morristown), an old flame who is now unhappily married and desperate for a little excitement. Their attempts at consummation are as funny as they are unsuccessful.
George and Jennie also run into trouble when George can’t shake the memory of Barbara, and resents Jennie for being as lovable as the love of his life. She resents him for wanting her to quit, because she’s never been a quitter.

Of course, Simon is known for happy endings, and “Chapter Two” is no different. That’s the hardest part of the story to swallow—we know that in real life, Simon’s storybook marriage to actress Marsha Mason didn’t last. But any adult who has been in love should find at least one character to identify with, which isn’t easy since there are only four to choose from.
It helps that Simon has given us some real people to identify with. He wisely wrote down, making George an obscure novelist rather than a world-famous playwright. Jennie makes a living, but isn’t the rising ingénue we remember Mason once was.

The actors are hardly matinee idols, either. Thomas, frequently seen in leading roles with the Womens Theater Company in Parsippany, is a fine actress, but is neither young nor possessed of leading-lady looks. Mantell matches Simon’s balding nebbishness. Littman has the sculpted looks of a womanizer, but he’s cut down to size in his scenes with Ferguson, who’s half a head taller than he is.

All four are comfortable and confident onstage, and Sod has the chemistry blending like wine and cheese. You can feel the familial love between the brothers, the sisterly bond between the ladies and the sparks between the lovers.

As usual at the Bickford, a single, detailed set (the lovers’ apartments, mirrored and sharing a center couch) presents a realistic platform for the action.

We’ve become so accustomed to Simon’s prolific genius that we sometimes take it for granted. Unfortunately, he’s done so often that he’s often done badly. Regular theater-goers may see the familiar title and think, “not again.” But this production could make them re-think their need to be Simon-ized.