BWW Reviews: Sparkling Cast in Falcon's A OR B?

A or B?/by Ken Levine/directed by Andrew Barnicle/Falcon Theatre/through November 16

Which is more important in life ... love or position? Ambitious men and women compete for power in the corporate world and sometimes business partners fall in love, but can they have both equally? In his new comedy A or B? Ken Levine thinks not. With two dynamic and likable actors and directed skillfully by Andrew Barnicle at the Falcon through November 16, the play is slick, funny and engaging to a point, but something is lacking.

There is not a full enough, in-depth look at Ben (Jason Dechert) and Abby (Jules Willcox). We don't really get to know them sufficiently. We experience their sexual impulses and their competitive ideas on how to maneuver better marketing strategies in behind the scenes advertising for TV, but there are only glimpses of them as real flesh and blood human beings. Playwright Levine grew up watching and loving The Dick Van Dyke Show and relished those characters. Sally and Buddy played by Rose Marie and Morey Amsterdam won our hearts because we sympathized with their flaws as people and their personal dilemmas as well as their daily problems with getting out a good script.

In A or B? Levine cleverly plays out each scene two different ways. In scene one, for example, Abby does not get the job, but goes to bed with Ben, sealing a sexual relationship. In scene two, she gets the job, but refuses to become sexually involved with her new boss. She wears red in the first and blue in the second, and this red, blue technique continues throughout the play. In Act I it's fun to see how the characters struggle to succeed on the business side as well as trying to find happiness together. Act II speeds up tremendously and the scenes are akin to blackouts. Here they come up with appropriate red and blue background lighting, but so fast and furiously that it is almost impossible to keep up with all that is happening apart from laughing and enjoying the various joke lines, which are very topical, up.to.date with references to many current people and TV characters.

Obviously, the point of the whole play is: when two people meet, they need to approach the experience in a much more casual, friendly manner without pressure, expectations or desires of instant gratification. In other words, be more humanly interested and let the chips fall where they may, without pushing for results. Too much pushing will only lead in the long run to a breakup, either professionally or personally, with the two wishing that they could...'start over'. The uber fast pacing and quick, cleverly written interchanges are consistent throughout the play to ironically serve the piece's overall message.

BUT, we still need to learn more about Abby and Ben before we can truly care for them as people. I loved the whole section where Abby finds out about the death of her cat Whiskers, and how she cries all the way through Ben's Meow Mix presentation. She gives in, tells him about her sorrow and cries on his shoulder. It's a lovely, touching moment. Unfortunately, in A or B?, these moments are few and far between. What we do get are two wonderful performances from Willcox and Dechert whose chemistry just sparkles... and some pretty terrific staging by director Barnicle. If laughs are your main thing, then go! As in a Neil Simon piece, Ken Levine provides fun aplenty!

http://www.falcontheatre.com/

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