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Chapter Two
By Neil Simon
Eltham Little Theatre
Directed by Kris Weber
Reviewed by Ken Barnes - 5 March 2009
Those who can recall the swinging 1970's will know that Neil Simon was the playwright best able to draw out the psychology of American 'relationships' at that time. Although his Chapter Two is a fairly long play, it is laced with witty and sophisticated dialogue throughout. Any soppiness is quickly mopped up by crackling humour and the occasional tedious introversion is balanced by some brilliantly orchestrated action.
The story is about two mature New Yorkers; writer George is mourning the death of his wife after 12 years of happy marriage while actress Jennie is recovering from a divorce. Both are emotionally scarred. George's grieving puts a damper on his brother Leo's futile attempts to set him up with a new woman, while Jennie declares to her friend Faye that she is only interested in pursuing her theatrical career and reading the classics. But you guessed it: the two born-again celibates are destined to meet and fall in love; though in falling they encounter some turbulence on the way down.
Eltham presented this work on a split stage, Jennie's apartment on one side and George's on the other. Both were decorated in 1970's American style, with great attention to detail, even down to the obligatory macramé, the popular novels of the time and authentic bottle labels. Jennie's apartment was cosy and feminine with potted plants, George's bookish and unkempt. Clever set design by Phil Holmes also provided insights into both kitchens and predictably, George's refrigerator was usually empty save for a bottle of stale milk or half-consumed Coke. As the action switched from one apartment to the other, expert stage management by Steve Saul and precise lighting changes ensured that the audience was never confused. Each scene change was accompanied by appropriate music. Designed by Kris Weber, lighting and sound were executed by Campbell Black and Andrea Cole respectfully.
In this production all four actors were able to engage very effectively with the audience and one could feel the empathy as they played out the sad/happy story. Jeanne Snider brought a refreshing optimism and cheerfulness to the stage in the role of divorcee Jennie, but was able to contrast these qualities with occasional outbursts of anger and gnawing frustration as she wrestled with George's painful introversion. James Carlon handled the difficult role of George with great energy, whether wracked by angst or engaged with Jeanne in sharp-scripted intellectual gymnastics. There were occasional lapses in enunciation and the accent was not quite there, and I felt that James put rather too much oomph into the character. He is good enough to have relaxed a little, turned down the wick and let the nuances do the rest.
The same could be said of Donal Taylor's energetic portrayal of George's fast-talking but caring brother Leo. In George's apartment, Leo was just a touch over the top. However when he showed another side of his character (indeed it turned out that the seemingly saintly Leo had feet of clay) his portrayal was somewhat more colourful and entirely believable. That brings me to Emma Cox who played the feisty and flirtatious Faye with sublime authority. Rarely does one see an actor who is relatively new to the stage so totally at home in a tragic-comedy role like this one. Her tryst with Leo in Jennie's apartment was one of the highlights of the evening; hilarious, riotous, impressively acted and choreographed.
All in all, Kris Weber and the Eltham team's production of this signature work by Neil Simon was a treat. There were lots of smiles as the audience left the theatre.
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