Comedy, drama intertwine in ‘Lovers at Versailles’

Tom Titus

Playgoers attending the American premiere of “Lovers at Versailles”

at the Laguna Playhouse may expect to see a story set in France

against the backdrop of a certain palace. Hopefully, they won’t be

too disappointed to find that the characters -- all but one anyway --

never really get out of Dublin, Ireland.

Irish playwright Bernard Farrell is “being cute” with his title,

basing it on one character’s misunderstanding of a lyric from the

Frank Sinatra melody “Strangers in the Night.” It’s just one of a

series of mistaken assumptions involving a character’s name (David or

Daniel) and his destination (Finland or Iceland).

“Lovers at Versailles” actually centers on the death of an Irish

shopkeeper and its effect on his wife and two daughters -- especially

the unmarried one, whose matrimonial plans are derailed by the

hypochondriac mother. The characters undergo some deadly serious

transitions -- they just happen to be roaringly funny -- in this

lengthy but quite satisfying production directed by Andrew Barnicle.

Farrell’s characters have quite a bit on their plates, and they

devour it with gusto. Past and present intertwine with almost

predictable regularity as we see what life with the late father was

like, and what his passing has done to the family.

In the center of this tragicomic maelstrom is Kelley Hazen as the

single daughter, and she delivers a bravura, multi-layered

performance. In a scenario resembling South Coast Repertory’s recent

“Proof,” Hazen enacts the daughter closest to her father who’s

fearful of inheriting from him an absent-mindedness bordering on

Alzheimer’s disease.

Marcia Rodd is excellent as a chain-smoking, domineering mother

stunned by the revelation of some secret love letters squirreled away

in the old man’s possessions. Her other daughter is a volatile

presence enacted with volcanic determination by Rebecca Dines, whose

primary concern is the antics of her dullard, sports nut of a

husband.

The latter role is enriched by Richard Ashton, with Hazen’s one of

the two supreme performances of the show. Ashton excels as a soccer

fanatic with little between his ears who seems never to say the right

thing at the proper time. His donnybrook with Dines late in the show

is priceless.

Joe Medalis demonstrates the fine art of skillful underplaying as

the late father who keeps returning in a series of flashbacks (again,

similar to “Proof”) and offers sage, if slightly addled, advice.

Kevin Black earnestly presents Hazen’s woodworking suitor who uses

the occasion of a funeral to try for a second change at romance.

Rounding out the company are two actresses who contribute lively

cameos late in the production -- Carolyn A. Palmer as a perky news

reporter and Rende Rae Norman as one who holds an important key to

the plot. Her appearance is an inspired bit of playwriting.

The action is beautifully played out on Dwight Richard Oodles’

expansive working-class living room set, behind which is the father’s

store, seen only through a scrim. Julie Keen’s costumes and Paulie

Jenkins’ lighting are very effective contributions.

This is Farrell’s third American premiere in Laguna, all directed

by Barnicle, and the pair obviously have an excellent working

relationship. The slices of comedy sandwiched in between dramatic

moments is splendidly accomplished by both artists.

“Lovers at Versailles” is a spirited journey through emotional

waters, roiled by surprisingly meaty chunks of inspired hilarity.

It’s a beautiful example of what can happen when people get their

Irish up.