THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, April 9, 1995 TAG: 9504090041
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Theater Review
SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT, THEATER CRITIC
LENGTH: Medium: 79 lines
A grouchy, retired college dean who is blind, and, maybe on the verge of death, is assigned a volunteer ``reader'' - a vulnerable street girl who is illiterate and happy about it. She comes to his hospital room once a week and, among other things, reveals that she is quite happy with her stud boyfriend - even though he beats her occasionally.
One is afraid of dying. The other is afraid of living.
As co-written by TV creator Garry Marshall (``Happy Days,'' ``Laverne and Shirley'') you can bet there will be numerous one-liners. There are a great number of solid laughs, but the play goes off balance when it also tries to trot out pathos too suddenly. Its TV origins, with a sit-com tradition of quick laughs, often shows.
The best laughs are provided by G.R. Rowe as the irascible dean. The angrier he gets, the more we laugh. ``Take me now'' he exclaims as he looks heavenward for relief from the girl's persistent babble of ignorance. When she tries to read Keats, he moans ``It's a nightmare. It's Kafka!''
Rowe, who is working in his 312th stage production is as close to a local theatrical legend as is still left from what many theatergoers remember as the ``golden age'' of area community theater.
He never succumbs to the temptation to ham it up with a role that often offers the chance. This, beneath the laughs, should be a tragic figure. The writers never quite turn him into the wry, sophisticated comedy of, for example, the central character of ``The Man Who Came to Dinner.'' Sometimes, in the more pretentious moments, we wish they had.
The play is a rare thing on the local scene - a new script. Outside the Generic Theater, new scripts are as sparse as snowballs in June around here. This one originated in Los Angeles, and moved to off-Broadway, as a vehicle for George C. Scott (with Tony Danza adding TV draw in the role of the boyfriend). The star power was more notable than the vehicle itself.
Lesa Azimi, an actress we much admired in ``The Dining Room'' at the regrettably defunct Sheraton Hotel Dinner Theater, has the tough assignment of playing Anita, the resident bimbo in whom we're supposed to, eventually, see promise. Alcoholics and drunks are supremely easy for actors to play, even though they do most often win awards for playing them.
Ignorance, on the other hand, is the most difficult to suggest believably. For the epitome of the right way to do it, check out Jon Voight's performance in ``Midnight Cowboy'' or Julie Walters' in ``Educating Rita.'' Azimi is too frantic in the early scenes and creates a caricature rather than a character. This leaves her in a bad position when, later, she is asked to switch to a worthwhile, redeemable character.
Director Mary Roach should have reined in her three younger actors to suggest more of a rough edge for this comedy. (One presumes that Rowe probably directed himself).
Kent Collins provides a handsome swagger as Dominic, the lowlife hoodlum who is loved by Anita, but he seems a bit too nice. You can't really believe he would beat her. For Collins, though, it is a notable stretch from his usual charismatic dance roles on local stages. Pamela Good, as the nurse, is, regrettably, allowed to mug uncontrollably.
If it's a new script you want, and an interesting comedic turn by veteran Rowe, this is your show. It is, incidentally, the final show the Actors' Theater will stage in the Virginia Beach Center for the Arts. The company is looking for a new home for next season. The move is particularly regrettable for the Arts Center because it is all-too-often dark - particularly to the performing arts. One has every reason to wonder if this building is being used properly. MEMO: THEATER REVIEW
What: ``Wrong Turn at Lungfish,'' the comedy-drama by Garry Marshall
and Lowell Ganz
Where: Virginia Beach Center for the Arts, end of Highway 44 across
from Virginia Beach Pavilion
Cast: G.F. Rowe, Lesa Azimi, Pam Good, Kent Collins
Credits: Presented by The Actors' Theater, directed by Mary Roach,
set by Joe Sasso, costumes by Ed Anderson, lighting by Michael Parker
When: Today at 2 p.m.
How much: $5, $10, $15. Call 557-0397 for reservations by CNB