Eclipse Theatre's revival of 'Plaza' is worth checking out
First comes a surprisingly dark tale of a middle-class marriage that has sadly gone sour in the most predictable ways. Next is a comic tale of celebrity worship that now, four decades after it first appeared onstage, seems like a harbinger of a phenomenon to come. And finally, there is a classic case of pre-wedding panic that unfolds in pure farcical style.
Put them all together -- unified by the fact that each successive scenario unspools in Room 719 of the Plaza, one of New York's most fabled luxury hotels -- and you've got Neil Simon's popular triptych "Plaza Suite," which debuted on Broadway in 1968, was turned into a film three years later and is now receiving a spirited revival by Eclipse Theatre. And if you initially groan at the very thought of revisiting Simon's unquestionably mid-20th century, pre-feminist musings on midlife crises and marital (and extra-marital) meanderings, this production suggests there are still some laughs to be had, and that there is some behavior that doesn't change in any appreciable way.
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RECOMMENDED
When: Through Aug. 31
Where: Eclipse Theatre at Victory Gardens Greenhouse, 2257 N. Lincoln
Tickets: $25
Phone: (773) 871-3000
On Broadway, actors George C. Scott and Maureen Stapleton played each of the play's three different couples. In the film version, Walter Matthau played all the male leads but was paired with Stapleton, Lee Grant and Barbara Harris. At Eclipse, director Steve Scott has cast each scenario separately, with only the hotel bellhop (a fleet and whimsically efficient J.P. Pierson) doing triple duty. In the process, he has made some ingenious choices in actors.
In "Visitor From Mamaroneck" (a wealthy New York suburb), we meet the devoted if dippy Karen Nash (expertly played by CeCe Klinger). She is a slightly frumpy but energetic woman desperately attempting to rekindle the romance in her marriage to her dyspeptic, calorie-counting businessman husband, Sam (Ted Hoerl, a perfect pill). Sam has been having an affair with his young, capable, attractive secretary (Nora Fiffer). Karen would be far better off without Sam, but that thought is only beginning to dawn on her.
In "Visitor From Forest Hills" (a well-to-do neighborhood in Queens), a plump and ever-bickering couple -- Norma (Cheri Chenoweth) and her husband, Roy (Jon Steinhagen) -- go into a tailspin when their daughter locks herself in the bathroom minutes before her hugely expensive wedding. She refuses to tie the knot, terrified that she and her groom might morph into a couple like her parents.
But it is the "Visitor From Hollywood" that elicits the most laughs. The premise is simple: Seventeen years after they dated in high school, Jesse (a too-youthful Nathaniel Swift, decked out in shaggy hair and love beads) has become a famous Hollywood producer made cynical by three failed marriages, while Muriel (Frances Wilkerson), remains a seemingly unspoiled wife and mother of three still living in New Jersey. On a visit to New York, Jesse, a Peter Bogdanovich type, tries to rekindle old times. Muriel, who has slavishly followed his career and is enthralled by his connection to celebrities, appears to be untouchable (she even wears pert cotton gloves), but after she downs a few vodka stingers she is ready for more than she lets on.
In a deliciously understated hoot of a comic performance, Wilkerson (who would never have been cast in this role in the 1960s, simply because she is black) nails every line and is a perfect mix of prim reticence and moxie minx.
STAGE NOTE: When the national touring production of "Mamma Mia!" returns to Chicago -- running Sept. 17-28 at the Auditorium Theatre, 50 E. Congress -- two veteran Chicago actors will be playing major roles. Starring as Donna Sheridan, the single mom with a racy past, will be the previously announced Susie McMonagle, while Michael Aaron Lindner plays Harry Bright (the British banker who might be dad to Donna's daughter). Tickets: (312) 902-1400.
