A stylish ‘Philadelphia Story’ in Huntington Beach

Tom Titus

Some plays age more gracefully than others, and one which has attained

its maturity with style and panache is Philip Barry’s witty,

sophisticated comedy “The Philadelphia Story.”

More than 60 years have passed since Katharine Hepburn launched a

comeback of sorts with this vehicle, first on Broadway and then in the

movie version. The play has received periodic revivals locally, and now

blooms most elegantly on the stage of the Huntington Beach Playhouse.

“Blooms” is indeed the operative word, for the Huntington Beach

production doesn’t arrive in full flower. Establishing the familiar but

complicated plot -- a divorcee about to remarry undergoes a personality

“thawing out” with the assistance of several glasses of champagne --

isn’t always as smooth as it might be.

Barry’s comedy is all about class, in both definitions of the term.

The upper-level Philadelphians are an inviting target for the ink-stained

wretches who cover the society wedding for a scandal sheet, but the rich

don’t always have a monopoly on snobbery, or sophistication for that

matter.

At Huntington Beach, there are a few uneven moments in the expository

process, but director Michael Ross has chosen a capable cast, which puts

the show into overdrive by intermission. Establishing the situation is a

bit dicey, due in part to Barry’s rather archaic dialogue, but by the

second act the performers are speaking it like a native tongue.

Particularly impressive in this regard is Sophie Areno in the central

role of Tracy Lord, the heiress whose chilly “virgin goddess” aura has

frozen her fun-loving first husband out of her life and who now intends

to marry a “commoner,” as the British might have it. Areno sparkles in

her icy opening scenes and absolutely glows as she lets down her hair,

and her attitude, with an all-too-gentlemanly journalist. Her “morning

after” sequence is splendidly rendered.

Thom Gilbert requires some warmup time for his role as the flawed but

personable ex-husband, but nails the character quite nicely in the second

act. Gilbert presents the playwright’s message urging toleration for

human frailty quite effectively.

As the reporter who takes an impromptu midnight swim with the tipsy

Tracy, Greg Stich is excellent, firing his working-class zingers with

breezy aplomb and generally upsetting the upper-class apple cart. Ramsey

Schlissel neatly underplays his photographer girlfriend, revealing a

tenderness under the brassy exterior.

Tracy’s stolid, up-by-his-bootstraps fiance is given a properly rigid

interpretation by Dean Hart (in a 180-degree turn from his Bo in the

theater’s preceding show, “Bus Stop”). Cleta Cohen glides through the

role of the bride’s mother with an elegant flair.

A pair of skilled scene stealers who enrich their smaller roles are

Valorie Curry as Tracy’s teenage sister (a bit older than the role

usually is played), who slyly alters the romantic pattern, and Gordon

Marhoefer as the bride’s reprobate uncle, a fanny pincher of the first

order. Phillip Powers is fine as Tracy’s erring father, while Adelina

Peck nicely enacts the family maid.

Mickey England’s elaborate set design convincingly recreates a ritzy

Philadelphia mansion, while Bill Bingham’s lighting is generally

effective, although it could be brightened a bit upstage in the earlier

moments. Costumes by Jennie McGee are attractively convincing (though a

remark about Schlissel’s attractive hairstyle falls flat since the

coiffure in question is completely covered by a hat at the time).

“The Philadelphia Story” is one of those period staples that helps

define the American theater over the years. It’s in quite capable hands

at the Huntington Beach Playhouse.

CUTLINE: Greg Stich carries a pixilated Sophie Areno back from a

midnight swim as her ex-husband (Thom Gilbert, right) and her fiancee,

Dean Hart, register varying degrees of astonishment in “The Philadelphia

Story” at the Huntington Beach Playhouse.

F.Y.I.

WHAT: “The Philadelphia Story”

WHERE: Huntington Beach Playhouse, Central Library Theater, 7111

Talbert Ave., Huntington Beach.

WHEN: Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m. until

Nov. 18

COST: $14 - $17

PHONE: (714) 375-0696