Simon’s ‘Pictures’ nearly in focus

Relationships, both familial and romantic, are examined with mixed

results in Neil Simon’s serio-comedy “I Ought to Be in Pictures,”

currently being presented by Orange Coast College’s student- operated

Repertory Theater.

The primary focus, between an unsuccessful screenwriter father and

the 19-year-old daughter he hasn’t seen since she was 3, is explored

with tenderness and warmth -- along with Simon’s usual complement of

one-liners. The secondary union, a weekends-only assignation between

the commitment-phobic scribe and his makeup-artist girlfriend, is

less satisfactorily detailed.

Director Dan Barnard focuses on the strained but gradually

developing relationship between writer Herb Tucker (Sean Coutu) and

his tough cookie daughter Libby (Michelle “Mia” Merlino), now 19 and

brimming with New York attitude. She arrives, unannounced, on his

doorstep in search of a career as a movie actress -- with a little

help from dad, of course.

The young lady soon realizes she’d do better with assistance from

her father’s girlfriend Steffy (Jennifer Stoneman), who gets much

closer to the powers that be than dear old dad, even if she just

touches up their faces. However, she elects to set out on her own,

admittedly haphazard, course of action.

Merlino delivers a splendid tough-tender performance, eventually

revealing her vulnerability after engaging in several wars of words

with her father. Her character is one of Simon’s better-constructed

figures, connecting with her audience on several levels from humor to

hostility to, ultimately, a frightened, uncertain girl yearning for

familial bonding.

The lackadaisical screenwriter, Herb Tucker, isn’t too far removed

from Simon’s Oscar Madison character from “The Odd Couple,” only with

a few added layers of depth. Coutu revels in that interpretation at

the outset before giving in to his long-repressed feelings of genuine

love for his daughter. His approach to employment mirrors that of

Murray Burns in Herb Gardner’s “A Thousand Clowns” -- why slave over

a script when you can pick up more money at the racetrack?

The problem arises with Coutu’s relationship with Stoneman, never

depicted as anything more than cordial, and often not even that.

Stoneman has some fine, barbed dialogue, which she brings off quite

well, but the lack of outward physical affection in both actors tends

to dilute what is, at bottom, a tender and loving, if noncommittal,

pairing.

Set designer David Scaglione has fashioned an all-too-lived-in

interior setting, which blossoms in the second act, thanks to Libby’s

makeover. Cynthia Corley’s costumes and Foxton Lewyn’s lighting

effects serve the production admirably.

“I Ought to Be in Pictures” is, like Simon’s “The Gingerbread

Lady,” an early attempt to forge beyond the quick laugh and mine some

depth of character. It’s one of the more satisfying of the

playwright’s myriad works.

IF YOU GO

* WHAT: “I Ought to Be in Pictures”

* WHERE: Orange Coast College, Studio Theater, 2701 Fairview Road, Costa Mesa

* WHEN: Closing performances tonight and Saturday at 8 p.m.,

Sunday at 2:30 p.m.

* COST: $7 to $8

* CALL: (714) 432-5880

* TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Daily Pilot. His reviews

appear Fridays.