THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, February 10, 1995 TAG: 9502080197
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 14 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MONTAGUE GAMMON III, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 67 lines
Jean Kerr wrote the harmless bit of comic fluff titled ``Lunch Hour'' recently enough that the Little Theatre of Portsmouth easily updated its few topical references to set the events in the present.
The piece clearly was composed during one of the recent rages for pop psychology books. That, more than the morbid tone with which a harshly realistic view now tinges tales of sexual freedom, gives the script its sense of being removed from contemporary concerns. The targets of its satirical side, those who preach and those who practice such self-congratulatory amateur analysis, seem less familiar than they did a decade or two ago.
Even revised, the script retains a distinctly dated quality to it.
The story concerns the marital difficulties of a psychiatrist who writes best-selling books on troubled marriages and who terms himself a marriage counselor.
Characters include Oliver, the psychiatrist; his wife, Nora; their bachelor landlord, Leo; a disturbed and immature young woman named Cassie (or Carrie; the dialogue uses one name, the program another); and her wealthy, older husband, Peter.
Much of what passes for drama and for characterization in ``Lunch Hour'' is based on the tradition of letting two characters verbally flail away at each others' insecurities.
The high volume with which such arguments are conducted, and their length, tend toward the tedious, but that is the author's fault rather than the players.
Much of the play's comedy stems from the old ``what a tangled wed we weave,'' cliche, as applied to deception that is meant to illustrate a truth rather than to conceal one. The two who pretend to be lovers, to get back at their philandering spouses, find out how complex such a charade can become.
The unintended effects of that pretense are tender as well as comic, and that sense of tenderness is one of this production's real achievements.
Another worthwhile achievement is the sprinkling of genuinely funny bits and humorous touches that punctuate the scenes. Alice Everhart directed, and has introduced truly clever moments that are carried off quite effectively.
It is Marti Craver, as the naive Cassie , who gets most of those good bits and whose comic abilities bring life to some otherwise mundane scenes.
Craver has a knack for the camped up gesture, and a sharp sense of timing, that make her performance especially enjoyable.
Adam Ivey and Kathlyn Baker play Oliver and Nora with a lot of energy, especially vocal energy. Once the script tires of saddling Oliver with various displays of exasperation, Ivey shows sensitivity appropriate to the romantic passages of the play.
Jim DiMunno is a bit less eccentric than one might expect as the young, free-spirited landlord, but his acting is pleasant and clear.
Tom Falls only appears in the last part of the show, but gives a memorably relaxed, unforced, and appealing performance. Sitting alone on a sofa while the action quite literally takes place all around him, Falls makes the poor little rich man Peter an exceptionally sympathetic person who is the most real character in the show.
Credit for that stage picture goes to Everhart, as do the compliments for designing a set that is both well-conceived and well-realized. MEMO: AT A GLANCE
``Lunch Hour'' will be performed at 8 p.m. today and Saturday, and at
2 p.m. Sunday at Wilson High School. Tickets are $7 for adults and $6
for senior citizens and students. Tickets will be on sale at the door. by CNB