Theater Review
Life is funny and sad, often at the same time. Playwright Neil Simon writes comedies that illustrate this’plays structured around painful situations that unfold in humorous ways. The absurdity of these scenarios makes them feel strangely close to real life. In the Santa Monica Theatre Guild’s production of Simon’s “The Prisoner of Second Avenue,” the audience is trapped in a modern (1970) New York City apartment with residents Mel and Edna Edison, a middle-aged couple struggling with life in the urban jungle. Leave it to Simon (“The Odd Couple” and “Lost in Yonkers”) to drag you down into the dumps of middle-aged existence and then make you laugh about it. But it is also the stunned silences and exposed vulnerability of the characters in this dark comedy that are funny. Creative direction by Lewis Hauser incorporates these “quiet” moments into the entertaining production, which runs through February 18 at the Morgan-Wixson Theatre in Santa Monica. Hauser previously directed Simon’s “Rumors” and “Laughter on the 23rd Floor” at the Morgan-Wixson, and for the latter production he won the 2004 Geoffrey Award for Best Director. In “Prisoner of Second Avenue,” the city that never sleeps keeps the Edisons awake. Rather, Mel can’t sleep and he keeps Edna up with him. He’s disgusted with the summer heat, the impatient moan of car horns and the pungent smell of days-old garbage that find him 14 floors up in the Upper East Side apartment. He’s a prisoner in his own home’recently unemployed and on the verge of a mental breakdown at the beginning of the play. “I’m unraveling. I’m losing touch,” he says in a Willy Loman moment. Robbed of his job’his identity’Mel explodes when he learns his apartment was burglarized when Edna went shopping “for five minutes.” With no Scotch or Valium to calm his temper, he tells her, “I don’t need an analyst. I need ‘Lost and Found’.” Max Cohen’s portrayal of the complicated character is one of the best things about the play. He makes the transitions between Mel’s fast-changing moods with ease’pacing with anxiety and spouting angry complaints, then crying like a baby after one of his rages. As the paper-thin walls of the Edisons’ apartment begin to close in on Mel, he makes his devoted wife bang on the wall in response to neighbors’ complaints. In the role of Edna, Rene’ Travelli crafts the perfect whiny but loving housewife who wants only to please her husband and keep a nice home. Cohen and Travelli alone anchor the entire first act of the play, delivering Simon’s witty jokes with a naturalness and establishing their characters’ interdependence. They make it interesting to watch Mel and Edna process their misfortune amidst the chaos. For example, Edna wonders aloud what she would have done if she’d walked into their apartment while the burglars were still there. In this scene, Travelli sits on the couch, clutching a pillow, and asks again “What would I have done?” After a brief pause, Cohen delivers the answer’humorous, of course. The second act is a little darker, as Mel exhibits clear signs of cabin fever and speaks volumes with his snarled smile. It doesn’t help that Edna’s found a job and, with it, the energy to support them in her new role as breadwinner. When Cohen bounces a ball against the wall, we almost expect him to recite “No work and all play makes Jack a dull boy.” Instead, he clues his wife in on the “plot” against them. What plot? she asks. “The plot to undermine the working classes in this country.” (The “plot” could be a double-entendre, since Simon’s plays are known to be driven more by humorous lines and well-developed characters than plot.) With the city falling apart around the Edisons’increasing crime and strikes affecting practically all businesses’the likely solution is to find a way out. But it’s a Catch 22’they feed off of the chaos of city life, and is there really any place better to live than New York City anyway? By the time Mel’s siblings attempt to come to the rescue (in act two), the audience is ready for some new blood. Of course, they’re a lot like Mel’anxious and oversensitive’and they treat their brother like a patient. Unlike Mel and Edna, the siblings don’t have much soul. They’re well-meaning and want to do “the right thing” but they can’t think outside the box, and instead spend most of the time grappling with how much money to contribute to Mel’s doctor bills. The humorous way in which they try to deal with his breakdown is all part of Simon’s ability to capture the absurdity of the situation. The entire play is set in the Edisons’ living room, which is stylishly designed with ’60/’70’s-style furniture all arranged just so against a light mustard yellow and olive green color scheme (set design by Michael McGee). Flashy blue and magenta pillows, as well as detailed hanging lamps and two walls cut with hollow circular designs, also speak to the times. “The Prisoner of Second Avenue” opened on Broadway in 1971 with Peter Falk and Lee Grant and was made into a movie starring Jack Lemmon and Anne Bancroft in 1975. The Santa Monica Theatre Guild production, produced by Marcia Pryor, continues through February 18 with performances Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets are $18 for general admission; $15 for seniors and students, with group discounts available. Contact: 828-7519.
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