Review: FRANKIE AND JOHNNY IN THE CLAIRE DE LUNE at 2nd Story Theatre

First of all, I was supposed to write a review last month of Charles Morey's adaptation THE LADIES MAN by Georges Feydeau. Unfortunately, the elevator was out of service and, since I get around in a wheelchair, so was I. I finally got to see it the night it closed; It was the night of the full Hunter's Moon, and Warren was hopping-every restaurant we passed was packed. My wife and I had a light dinner around the corner from the theater at the Square Peg. The joint was jumping and deservedly so. Then it was on to THE LADIES MAN, and it was a hoot; Ed Shea was hilarious; the whole production rocked. I still laugh once in a while at some of the goings on.

OK, on to FRANKIE AND JOHNNY IN THE CLAIRE DE LUNE written by Terrance McNally, directed by Mark Peckham, and yet another full moon-this time as part of the set. The play focuses on two lonely, middle-aged people whose first date ends with their tumbling into bed in Frankie's one-room walk-up apartment in the west side of New York City. Two lost souls on the highway of life, they are each struggling to find something worthwhile in life. Johnny is certain he has found his soul mate in Frankie. She, on the other hand, is far more cautious and disinclined to jump to conclusions and at first has written off the encounter as a one-night stand and maybe not a very good one; she cannot get the guy to leave. As the night unfolds, they slowly begin to reveal themselves to each other as they take tentative steps towards the possible start of a new relationship.

While this play seems like a sweet love story, McNally throws in a couple of frightening references. In the first act, while she is trying unsuccessfully to get Johnny to leave, she tells him this is "worse than 'Looking for Mr. Goodbar,'" a 1973 film starring Diane Keaton and Richard Gere about a sexual encounter which ends in murder. An later, in what I took to be a nod to Hitchcock's "Rear Window," she and Johnny dim the lights, so they can observe a couple in another apartment in an abusive relationship. It's not simply that she doesn't trust him; the situation is potentially dangerous.

I also had a bit of a hard time warming to the actors. I found Chris Perotti's Johnny more pushy than loveable. His desperation for a meaningful relationship made him appear controlling, even slightly menacing, to me. And Emily Lewis's delivery seemed more deft in the second act: either her lines were funnier or she was more comfortable with them. Other than that, Max Ponticelli's set was fine, and he created beautiful light of a silvery moon. Ron Cesario's costumes hit the mark when the actors were wearing them.

FRANKIE AND JOHNNY IN THE CLAIRE DE LUNE runs DOWNSTAGE at 2nd Story Theatre until November 20th. Performances are at 7:30 Thursday, Friday and Saturday and Sunday at 2:30. Running time is one hour and forty-five minutes with an intermission. Tickets are $35.00, $25.00 for anyone twenty-one or younger, and $20.00 for those who have the foresight to go on preview weekend (too late for this show). 2nd Story Theatre is located at 28 Market St., in Warren. The box office can be reached at 401. 247. 4200 or at www.2ndStoryTheatre.com. The venue is handicap accessible with lovely accessible bathrooms on both floors.