Review: THE ANGEL NEXT DOOR at Laguna Playhouse

The Angel Next Door is a glittering, effervescent hit romantic comedy by Paul Slade Smith at the historic Laguna Playhouse. It’s an elegant, sweet-dry glass of champagne, bubbling over with non-stop laughs, merriment, glamor, and high-spirited hijinks. It’s hard to think of more fun you could have at the theatre right now, or really, more fun anywhere.

The Angel Next Door radiates vintage glamor and a vanished world of long weekends at millionaires’ mansions full of adventures, zany misunderstandings, and all manner of delightful foolishness.

This is the kind of magnificent screwball comedy that used to be everywhere, the kind of confectionary delight that Oscar Wilde or Noel Coward might have written for the stage, or the kind of madcap film you might have watched in black and white, starring Cary Grant.  It reminds me of that wonderful Ernst Lubitsch treasure of 1939, that rare Greta Garbo comedy, Ninotchka. The Angel Next Door is thoroughly light hearted and gleefully frivolous, witty and playfully naughty, without a care in the world. The glamorous minty green staging by Marty Burnett, the gorgeous, swanky costumes by Elisa Benzoni (that emerald green peignoir with the satin heeled slippers and that peacock gown!), and brilliant direction by David Ellenstein are all pitch perfect.

The Angel Next Door recently premiered as an acclaimed popular hit at North Coast Rep in Solana Beach, before moving to the Laguna Playhouse. It is inspired by a 1924 play by Ferenc Molnár. Molnár was one of Hungary’s most famed playwrights, who had another one of his plays adapted into the classic Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, Carousel. This play already has quite an impressive literary pedigree as a background. Játék a Kastélyban (Play at the Castle) was previously adapted by English humorist and writer P.G. Wodehouse (The Inimitable Jeeves) in 1926 and Czech-English playwright and screenwriter Tom Stoppard (Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead) in 1984. This latest work feels simultaneously fresh and period, alluringly classic without ever being stuffy. Playwright Paul Slade Smith is a distinguished theatre actor himself, and knows how to do this splendidly. He works with a mischievous, sophisticated comedic sensibility. It couldn’t be better.

And oh, what a fantastic cast! Everyone seems to be having so much fun on stage, I just wanted to join in.

At the center of it all is playwright couple Arthur and Charlotte Sanders, played brilliantly by actors James Newcomb and Barbara E. Robertson. What a refreshing change of space, to see as the stars of a show, a creative, loving older couple in the prime of their lives, still working, still having so much fun together. I really couldn’t get enough of these two. James Newcomb is an award winning Shakespearean actor and professor in the University of California San Diego Department of Theatre and Dance. Newcomb brings non stop humor to the show, with superlative comedic timing and unique, compelling reactions. I laughed at almost every line. Barbara E. Robertson also has an impressive career as an instructor and actress spanning film, television, and theatre, having worked with legendary Hollywood directors like Robert Altman and David Lynch. She is beautifully talented, with physical comedy that reminds me of Lucille Ball, but also immensely grounded, with delightful, sparky chemistry with James Newcomb.

Taubert Nadalini brings a perfect brooding vintage look and a unique mix of intelligence, innocence, boyish charm, and monumental gonzo commitment to the part of Oliver, the young romantic novelist. It’s a ridiculous part that he somehow inhabits with both authentic, believable earnestness and utter comedic insanity. He performs outrageous pratfalls and zany physical stunts that recall the lost art of the great vaudevillians.  It feels like watching Donald O'Connor in the classic physical comedy showstopper “Make ‘Em Laugh” in Singin’ in the Rain. Taubert Nadalini is an actor, director, and composer, known for his theatre work and his work on Showtime, HBO, and NBC. His performance is an inexpressible delight, which brought actual howls of laughter from the audience.

The breakout sleeper hit of the show surely must be the dour housemaid Olga, who is deeply suspicious of “theatre people.” Olga, played by Erin Noel Brennan, steals every scene she’s in with her surly, abrupt delivery. Her genius performance is a treasure that can’t be missed. The audience frequently broke into spontaneous applause for her. The wife of the playwright Paul Slade Smith, Erin Noel Grennan is an award-winning actress on stage, in films, and television (Blue Bloods, Law and Order, and many more).

The Angel Next Door is a total joy through and through. The Laguna Playhouse and their exceptional creative team always do great work, but they’ve really outdone themselves with this latest triumph.

Photos by Jason Niedle

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