THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, May 31, 1996 TAG: 9605290199
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: B2 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Theater Review
SOURCE: Montague Gammon
LENGTH: 67 lines
A notably well-directed Little Theatre of Virginia Beach production of ``How the Other Half Loves'' offers convincing evidence that Alan Ayckbourn is one of the finest, and funniest, comic playwrights of recent times, and illustrates just how influential a talented director can be.
The production also features some performances that are especially praiseworthy, though it does not solve every problem that the author presents in his uncommonly difficult script. One does wonder if the opening night's second act took full advantage of every comic opportunity that Ayckbourn structured. That is a minor concern about pacing.
The plot follows the events in two households when one Bob Phillips has an affair with one Fiona Foster, his boss' wife. The Fosters are upper class, the Phillipses lower middle class. Cuckolded spouse Frank Foster is an elderly executive. His counterpart, Teresa Phillips, is played as a latter-day hippie sort who dresses in halter tops and peasant skirts and writes invariably unpublished letters to editors.
As in many farces, the comedy in ``How the Other Half Loves'' stems from the attempts of the two lovers to keep their affair secret and from the misunderstandings their lies engender.
Marshall Butt, as Frank Foster, turns in an absolutely impeccable performance that is arguably a high point of this veteran actor's local career.
Thought not everyone will find amusing the playwright's equation of age with forgetfulness and confusion, Butt manages to play what the author demanded without demeaning the character.
As the play nears its end, the well intentioned Foster becomes an admirably decisive person, albeit one who is misguided and misinformed.
Sam Hakim presents the arrogance written into the role of Bob Phillips with ideally timed scorn and sarcasm.
His jibes at Teresa, although touched with cruelty, become through his delivery some of the funniest moments of a generally funny first act.
Yet it remains difficult to understand their relationship.
Why does she put up with him and his callous attitude, and why is she ultimately so understanding of his failings? Just what are his complete feelings about Teresa and about their baby?
Fiona and Teresa are less flamboyantly written than are their two husbands. Kathy Umberger is absolutely on target with her portrayal of Fiona, a sharply self-interested younger wife who is not without patience, concern and genuine affection for her older husband.
As Teresa, Eileen Donis-Forster turns in a believable, though rather low-keyed performance as a young housewife whose homemaking skills are woefully inadequate. Like Fiona and the other women in the story, she demonstrates a hidden intelligence and strength as the play comes to its resolution.
There is a third couple who become innocently involved in the Foster-Phillips confusion, and in creating this pair, Ayckbourn showed a genius for creating outlandish, hilarious characters.
The neuroses of Mary and William Detweiller give Victoria Blake and Mark S. Woodard full rein for their exceptional comic talents. It would be hard to over-praise Blake's virtuoso clowning, but she is well-matched by Woodard's finely tuned, precise quirkiness.
One bit, in which the Detweillers get their legs entangled while William is tying the shoes of an oblivious and impassive Frank Foster, boasts choreography as precise and difficult as a ballet, with infinitely more crowd appeal.
G.F. Rowe's direction of that scene and of the whole intricately physical show, provides clarity and imbues the entire piece with a wealth of humorous detail. by CNB