REVIEW: Cockpit’s “Plaza”: Semi – “Suite”

Neil Simon is a staple in live theatre at all levels – from Lost in Yonkers at your local high school to Barefoot in the Park on Broadway.  His lighter works, the all-out comedies, are a sure fire hit for summer theatre, and Cockpit-in-Court’s first play offering this summer – Plaza Suite – gives it a pretty good go.

Directed by Joey Hellman (who also plays a bit part in two of the three acts – not enough folks try out?  I always wonder that when a director casts himself) and beautifully designed by Doug Kotula (set) and James J. Fasching (costumes), this old chestnut fires on two of three cylinders.  The conceit of the play, which really examines relationships, is that we are watching three sets of guests who happen to have checked into the same suite of the Plaza Hotel in New York City.  Interestingly, and most appreciated by this critic, is the fact that director and design team chose NOT to update the play, leaving it (and its sensibility) firmly planted in the 1960’s.  The costumes, wigs and make up designed by Mr. Fasching are a hoot, bring knowing smiles/cringes from some of the ladies in the audience especially.  The set, by Mr. Kotula has managed what I would have thought impossible upon first glance.  You see, the show is done in a VERY up-close, in-the-round style, and the first thing one notices is the gigantic bed that dominates the tiny stage.  Knowing the prominence of the bathroom door in act three, I’ll admit I looked at it (stationed resolutely in one of the four corners of the space) with dim hopes that it would even remain standing after the beating it was about to take.  Boy, was I wrong!  Designer and director must have collaborated closely because the entire space was used effortlessly and creatively do dispel any claustrophobic feelings.  And the door?  FIRM!   And hilarious…nearly a character itself.

So, how were the guests?  Hmm…well, a mixed bag – passable, very good and fantastic.  Fortunately for the audience, the show builds in just that order.  The first one act, “Visitors from Mamaroneck” features two of my favorite local actors, Suzanne Young (an absolute hoot in Mamaleh! earlier this season) and Denis Latkowski (a terror in And Then There were None also earlier this season).  Sadly, these were not their best efforts.  Some of it is surely due to the fact that this section of the play seems especially dated, and the content isn’t really happy – long married couple, unhappily trying to celebrate an anniversary, and he admits to having an affair.  Some of the problem lies in the jokes and the casting.  Rail-thin Latkowski whining vigorously about wanting a Metrocal and lean roast beef simply is not funny, and that joke takes up several minutes.  And some of the blocking, surely intended to beef up the laugh quotient, is trying to be physical – Young running around the set with one shoe on and one shoe off and flopping in a variety of ways on the bed – and is decidedly unfunny.  It got a meager few laughs the night I attended, I think because the audience felt obligated.  Mostly, however, the problem with act one is that neither seems to get the rhythms of Simon’s jokes, grinding down the pacing to a near halt.  You feel every single second of the act’s one hour running time.

Next up is “Visitor from Hollywood” featuring a terrific performance by Stephanie Horvath Marks as the small town New Jersey housewife who comes to visit a former neighbor who has made it big in Hollywood – Steve Pospisil, who gives a decent if slightly dull performance as a would-be Lothario.  Watching Marks’ performance, I wondered if at least one of the Desperate Housewives wasn’t modeled after this character.  Deliciously played with multiple and very honest layers, Marks earns 100% of her laughs and manages to be more than just funny.  Pospisil, on the other hand tries to be a seducer with an easy monotone delivery.  Monotone delivery with an undercurrent of sleaze would have been funny, monotone with not hint of anything else is funny for 5 minutes.  Not to worry, though, Marks is the real star here, anyway, getting drunker by the second and funnier by the nanosecond.  The beauty of her performance, though is at some point one begins to realize that maybe HE is the one being seduced into bed, not HER!

Finally, in perhaps the most famous of the three acts, “Visitors from Forest Hills” we have the biggest chance for being dated and trite (the story involves that old stand by – about to be married bride gets cold feet and locks herself in the bathroom) until you see the acting.  Susan S. Porter and Craig A. Peddicord as Norma and Roy Hubley breathe new life into these characters.  They are “on” from the get-go, the level of energy immediately amps up the audience.  And instead of playing stock types, they both play the characters with a real depth and honesty.  And even better, both are whizzes at physical comedy, which is entirely necessary to this story.  And even BEST they both know how to deliver Neil Simon jokes, landing each one right on the button, nearly stopping the show with laughter.  Both Porter and Peddicord are masters at the slow burn, and each does several, and each one uniquely.  That door I mentioned earlier also holds up quite nicely to the banging, pounding and body hurdling that ensues.  It was the fastest, funniest and maybe the best 45 minutes I’ve spent recently at a local comedy.

In smaller roles in each of the plays, John Chrzanowski and K.C. O’Connor do a nice job as well adding some nice flavoring to the evening.  With this production, I’m pleased to say it looks like Cockpit-in-Court is getting quality back on track.  Up next is a production of The Music Man and the venerable An Inspector Calls.  Plaza Suite continues through this weekend at the upstairs cabaret, and The Full Monty closes this weekend as well on the main stage.