First things first. Chapter Two is written by the one and only Neil Simon. You may know him from The Odd Couple, The Goodbye Girl, or The Dinner Party. He has received more Academy and Tony Nominations than any other writer. He has won Emmy awards, Tony awards and The Pulitzer Prize. So, although I knew nothing about the story, my expectations were high.
Many of the performances I get to enjoy are musicals or musical reviews. I love music and dance and of course lots of costume changes. I say this because, it’s a little more challenging to entertain me if none of those elements are involved.
I took note of the set for clues. There appeared to be two different homes, side by side. One had a desk and looked like it might be the living quarters of a writer and the other was a little more traditional looking, with a living room set up and a kitchen complete with a Harvest Gold fridge.
From the first moment of this play I knew we were in for a treat. The characters were not only believable, but extremely likeable. This was my kind of humour. I marvelled, as I often do, at the sheer amount of dialogue. The one-liners, and witty repartee were immediate. There was something nostalgic about the music and ‘fade to black’ which was inserted between acts. Although the set was a little dated and the red track suit took me back, there was something less obvious at work here. Something about the feel of this play was transformative. Think Honeymooners, All in the Family or Odd Couple. It had a very familiar feel and yet somehow fresh and not like I’d seen it all before.
This play was filled with humor, and I found it very relatable. Here were two adults who had only recently become ‘single’, one through divorce and the other through the death of his wife. They weren’t really looking for love, but it found them, almost by accident. I could feel the chemistry between them from that first misdialled phone call.
All four cast members were convincing and entertaining. Susie Burnett played Faye, Jennie’s unfulfilled friend, and Luke Marty portrayed George’s slightly zany, but caring brother Leo.
George was played by David Silvestri, and Kristi Woods played Jennie.
The biggest surprise was that in the second half of the play, there was a slight pause in the ‘laugh a minute’. It was sobering to witness an outpouring of emotion when George tried to explain his sense of loss, and sorrow following the death of his wife. He had been pushing these feelings down for far too long. When they erupted, it was like time stopped. My eyes welled up with tears and my heart broke for him. It must be exhausting pouring all that emotion into a performance for our benefit, but it added another dimension to the play, and it was certainly not wasted on me.
By the end of the story, George bounces back (and so did I), and things are looking up for all the characters, so all’s well that ends well. This was a fun one and if you think I’m exaggerating about the performance by David Silvestri, get your tickets and hang on for the ride.
