‘Proposals’ a mixed comedy bag

Tom Titus

Were it possible to peek inside a playwright’s subconscious during

the process of literary conception, a glimpse of Neil Simon’s inner

workings as he was writing “Proposals” might have unearthed something

like this:

“Well, the first act is a little mild, not what people usually

expect from me, so I probably ought to kick it up a notch in the

second with a couple of stock characters. How about a ditzy blond and

a pushy Italian guy, and give them all the funny lines?”

This creative imbalance is evident in the play’s local premiere at

the Huntington Beach Playhouse, where the performers enacting the

aforementioned characters take on the task of Simonizing the last

half of a gentle comedy about relationships, resulting in an uneven,

though entertaining evening under the equally gentle guidance of

director James Gruessing.

The play’s title may be “Proposals,” but “Rejections” probably

would be a more accurate handle. Every character in this comedy, set

in the late 1950s at a summer resort in the Pocono Mountains, is

involved in a romantic breakup of some sort, although most of them

are respliced -- not always to their original partner -- by the final

fade-out.

The central figure is Josie (AmyJo Steele), a pretty young lady

who has just jettisoned her Harvard student boyfriend (David

Rusiecki), who’s not taking it too well (typing suicide notes). She’s

staying at the cabin with her dad (John F. Briganti), who’s still

carrying a rather large torch for his ex-wife (Annie Mezzacappa), who

dumped him after 20 years of marriage.

Her old flame (Justin T. Bowler) arrives on the scene, soon to be

joined by his new squeeze (Kate Luhr, the aforementioned ditzy

blond), while a virtual stranger who crossed her path on one occasion

(Ed Dyer, the Italian goombah) also is on his way up. To top things

off, even the family maid (Selma Pinkard) is bracing herself for a

visit from her long-absent husband (Lewis Hale), who has

reconciliation on his mind.

Steele pretty much soft-pedals her first-act scenes, requiring

more exclamation points in her dialogue. Briganti delivers a warm,

intelligent performance, with an ever-present twinkle in the eye,

while Rusiecki adds a layer of ennui to what already is a fairly dull

character.

Bowler’s golf pro/novelist character never really breaks through

to take command until too late in the play for audiences to flock to

his corner. Mezzacappa endows her awkwardly drawn role with the

proper jitters as she tries to reconnect with her daughter and avoid

reconnecting with her ex-husband.

Pinkard turns in the strongest performance of the cast, although

she suffers occasional lapses of clarity. True, hers is a familiar

figure in the theater, but her tough-tender portrayal is splendid.

Also, she works well with Hale in his deftly underplayed quest for

fence mending.

Comedy turns to farce with the arrival of Dyer’s Vinnie Vabasi --

who may not be a Mob enforcer, but he certainly strangles the English

language -- and Luhr’s Sammii who acts as if she’d be more at home in

a cage on “Laugh-In.” Their solemn officiating at a bird’s funeral

will elicit the loudest laughter of the night.

Gruessing also designed the superlative woodsy cabin setting,

which gives the show a feeling of rustic realism, as well as the

‘50s-era costumes and (with Rossann Andrews) the attractive lighting.

Andrews also is responsible for the fine outdoor set dressing.

“Proposals” addresses a number of relationship issues with the

perspective of a half-century in the future, and settles most as it

skims over its many characters. It’s nostalgic fun, as expected from

Neil Simon, with a little second-act farce thrown in for seasoning.

* TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Independent.