Joan Rivers Delivers the Goods with 'A Work in Progress'

The laughs are undeniable during the nearly two-hour straight shooting Joan Rivers: A Work in Progress by a Life in Progress, which opened Wednesday at the Geffen Playhouse.  And the title couldn't be any more appropriate, as Rivers is far from over when it comes to entertaining audiences, whether it be with her absent-minded red carpet interviewing "techniques" or her legendary comic routines. 

Simply put, Rivers gets it.  She understands that her humor is not what some might consider "high brow," rather she is a comedienne of the people, even if she doesn't quite resemble any person living today, thanks to far too many trips under the knife.  With the nearly rolling in the aisles response from the opening night crowd, it is obvious Rivers has once again connected with her base, a demographic that oddly enough no television network executive seems to believe exists.

A Work in Progress is a culmination of the funny lady's years of doing standup acts, with constant direct to the audience storytelling, which is then built around some otherwise throwaway interludes with a lukewarm ensemble cast.  Where this production succeeds is with the star herself, as Rivers moves one to near tears just as easily as she splits sides while recounting her past glories and hopefully never ending future endeavors.

Beneath the layers of botox and tucked skin there is a touching poignancy in Rivers, coming out in full force when she is standing alone in the spotlight on stage being as candid as possible about her past devastation.  As in the best of standup acts, a lot of what goes on in A Work in Progress is setup, with Rivers finely laying the groundwork for one pay off after another near the end of the show, although most of what she is preparing her audience for is serious business, including her husband's suicide and her own blacklisting by late night hoster Johnny Carson.

Another thing Rivers gets across is arguably her greatest asset, a refusal to back down under the continually mounting pressures by producers and suits as they remain firm with the old adage that in Hollywood any woman over 40 is a ratings killer.  And what better town than Los Angeles to showcase such a sentiment in.

Unfortunately for A Work in Progress, the star is such a moving force that everything else on stage seems unworthy of her talents, and under the direction of Bart DeLorenzo, the moments without Rivers center stage remain merely a boring aside.  Shtick, when done well, is often at least mildly amusing, yet when it is competing with someone like Rivers, it needs to be perfect.

A Work in Progress is built around the 90 minutes or so leading up to Rivers' Oscar Red Carpet show, and all the action goes down in a rundown dressing room full of dreadful memories for the host.  Over the course of the evening, it is revealed that a new network executive (Tara Joyce) is gunning for the dismissal of Rivers, opting to replace her with a younger and blander version, her own daughter Melissa.

While the premise appears to resemble an incident surrounding Rivers' dismissal from the TV Guide Network, or even a previous ousting at E! Entertainment, the book by Rivers, Douglas Bernstein and Denis Markell, could benefit from a facelift, wasting less time with the clichéd Russian makeup artist Svetlana (Emily Kosloski), a last minute replacement for Rivers' longtime beautician who jumped ship for team Melissa, or the gay fill-in producer Kenny (Adam Kulbersh).  While requisite laughs pop up now and then for the language barrier gags and boa wearing queen, in the face of a longer than comfortable running time, more time should be spent on Rivers' stories surrounding the likes of candlelight dining with screen legend Mae West, or perhaps even the sex over 60 routine, a bit that brought the house down.

For anyone wishing to catch a glimpse of a bright star that by all means of logic should have faded decades ago, then Joan Rivers:  A Work in Progress by a Life in Progress is a fantastic showcase of laughs and tears.  And a note to any network executives reading this review, neither Ryan Seacrest nor Lisa Rinna can ever come close to the genius that is Joan Rivers on the red carpet.

A Work in Progress runs through March 30 at the Geffen Playhouse.  Tickets are $35-$79 and can be purchased online at GeffenPlayhouse.com, by calling 310-208-5454 or at the box office, located at 10886 Le Conte Avenue in Los Angeles. And for more from James Sims visit www.simsscoop.com.

Photos by Michael Lamont.  (1) Joan Rivers. (2) Adam Kulbersh, Joan Rivers and Emily Kosloski.