Recent Review

Script  
Production  
Performance  

David O'Donnell, Tanna Frederick and Brent David Fraser
Photo: Paul Smith

This observant, amusing portrait of couples at different stages in their relationships stops short of fulfilling its potential. Two exceptional performances help carry the evening.

Henry Jaglom, an independent writer/director, has developed a reputation for offbeat, charming films that depend on the improvisational skill of their actors. This two-act comedy set in Los Angeles is reportedly based on his own life, Jaglom's observations about male/female relationships highlight the manipulative behavior of his female characters and the helplessness of the men they ensnare.

The playwright focuses on couples who settled for shallow definitions of happiness. The possessive, neurotic Dinah at the play's center can’t bear the idea that her marriage to Jack is over. She cooks a celebratory “divorce dinner” that almost poisons him when it causes an allergic reaction. When Lucy, and her restless spouse, Eddie, stop by, it's clear the couple is trapped in their Santa Barbara home by their two year-old. Jack’s sister, Peggy, arrives with a guitar-playing boyfriend, as well as plans for matrimony. While the tone of the dialogue is light, the cynicism of the writing is fresh and sharp in a surprising contrast to Jaglom’s deliberately featherweight films.

Jack's motive for a divorce is summed up by Lucy, "Men never know what they want and when they get it, they want something else.” The audience expects new revelations in the second act, but the author only reinforces previous points. Lucy is pregnant again (further limiting Eddie's options) and Peggy manipulates her laid-back lover into a proposal. Jaglom avoids similar lethal observations about his male characters. Instead, we learn that like so many of their generation, Dinah and Jack never entirely grew up.

Tanna Frederick stands out in director Gary Imhoff's cast. The actress, who appeared in Jaglom’s film, Hollywood Dreams, is also accomplished onstage. She reveals every ounce of pain with an honesty that is amazing and frightening. David O’Donnell has less to work with as Jack, but he's personable and believably confused. Bryan Callen and the photogenic Kelly DeSarla fill in important details about the visiting couple. Samantha Sloyan’s Peggy projects winning charm, and Michael Fairman is excellent in smaller roles. But the other outstanding performance is from Brent David Fraser as Peggy’s free-spirited lover. Whether strumming the guitar or driving an ice-cream truck, he single-handedly evokes an era. He also offers some valuable comic timing, although the director overuses him for scene breaks. Ideally, Imhoff should have employed more imagination to sharpen the entire cast's delivery and heighten the funny moments.

Jaglom should enrich his second act. The piece treads territory few writers have the guts to approach. Taking a leaf from Seinfeld, the playwright should go all the way to complete his pungent observations about his generation.