‘Squabbles’ rich in contentious comedy

Tom Titus

There’s a moment near the end of Marshall Karp’s comedy “Squabbles,”

now in residence at the Huntington Beach Playhouse, when the 73-year-old

widower lays out his philosophy of life as a senior citizen to his

daughter, who’s upset at his chosen lifestyle. Odds are it’ll draw

spontaneous applause, especially from the audience’s more mature members.

“Squabbles” is a formula comedy, but the formula works beautifully in

the Huntington Beach production. A couple in their thirties, with a baby

on the way, face the dilemma of having her father and his mother --

mortal enemies after she went after him at their wedding reception with a

cake cutter -- sharing their abode. It would work well as a TV situation

comedy, but it functions quite effectively as an opportunity for two

veteran stage actors to play the audience like a violin.

Director Gigi Fusco Meese knows all the right comic buttons to push,

and her cast responds with alacrity in this bouncy comedy, a reprise of a

play the theater had produced some 20 years before. Savage repartee and

chuckle-inducing sight gags abound throughout as the oldsters engage in

continual one-upmanship in word and deed while their hosts simmer and,

occasionally, lay down the law -- for all the good it will do.

Jerry DeCapua and Merry Clark are the put-upon progeny, a commercial

jingle writer and his lawyer wife who take on the roles of referees for

their combatant parents. DeCapua enacts his character with the slick

comic style of a young Dick Van Dyke (with a touch of Rich Little), while

Clark has the thankless straight role in a cast of clowns, but pulls it

off nicely -- particularly when enduring labor pains as pandemonium sets

in all around her.

The high point in hilarity is provided by Michael Fernandes-Olton as

Abe, the aforementioned senior citizen, a retired New York cabbie who

lives for confrontation. His polished delivery of Karp’s acerbic dialogue

is matched only by his uproarious “takes” as he reacts wordlessly but

eloquently to the conspiracy around him in a richly defined performance.

Ruth Siegall is his feisty opponent and, although she gives as good as

she gets, she’s the runner-up in this war of the words. Siegall mixes

calculated chicanery with blunt assault to establish her crotchety

character. She’s particularly effective in her “dream” dialogue,

calculating yet another insult to hurl at her elderly adversary.

Interrupting the action occasionally with a dose of comic ethnicity is

Ruben Collazo as the young couple’s Puerto Rican gardener, Hector, who

spends more time in their bathroom than in their yard. Mannny Siegall

nicely enacts Olton’s pinochle-playing buddy, while Adelina Peck

illustrates that grimaces speak louder than words as a sharp-tongued

nanny with a accent straight out of Transylvania.

Vincent Roca’s interior setting works well for the show, as does Adam

Michael Genzink’s lighting effects. Andrew Otero’s costumes and set

decoration complete an attractive picture.

“Squabbles” may be a lightweight entry in the playhouse’s season

schedule, but it’s certainly not light in the laugh department.

Audiences -- especially those in their “mature” years -- will get a

big kick out of this one.

* TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Independent.

FYI

WHAT: “Squabbles”

WHERE: Huntington Beach Playhouse, Central Library Theater, 7111

Talbert Ave., Huntington Beach

WHEN: Thursdays and Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 3 and 8 p.m.,

Sundays at 2 and 7 p.m. until July 7

COST: $14 - $17

PHONE: (714) 375-0696

CUTLINE: Ruth Siegall goes after Michael Fernandes-Olton with a

stuffed

monkey in this scene from ‘Squabbles’ at the Huntington Beach

Playhouse.