Through October 6
Is getting old and cranky funny? Neil Simon’s The Sunshine Boys (1972), now at the Senney Theater at the Beck Center for the Arts, suggests it is possible — even unavoidable if one is wise — to see it that way.
Under the direction of William Roudebush, Simon’s light-hearted drama (with a serious side) centers around a comic vaudeville duo whose heyday was in the 1920s and 1930s. But now it’s 1972. Nothing is funny anymore. The duo (once famous as “Lewis & Clark) split after a fight. But it doesn’t matter since no one books either one anymore.
When the play opens, we see poor old Willie Clark (a cranky Alan Safier) shuffle across the stage, trying to perform daily chores (brewing tea or making the bed) in his small apartment. Don’t feel too sorry though. Safier shows there’s comic fire once Willie’s properly motivated.
Such motivation appears when Clark’s well-meaning nephew (and agent), Ben Silverman (a tolerant Doug Sutherland), tries to reunite Clark with his former vaudeville partner, Al Lewis (played by Rohn Thomas), who matches Safier on the cranky scale).
As it happens, a job has appeared. A big network (CBS) wants the two seniors to recreate their popular “Doctor Skit” for a TV retrospective.
Despite Clark’s strong objections — they hate each other and have not worked together for over ten years — the nephew arranges a surprise reunion. Grudges resurface. Things get loud with shouting and name-calling, plus physical attacks (if shoving or poking a finger in someone’s chest may be described as “getting physical.”) And that’s just the first act. Things get more comic and more poignant in Act II, but that’s enough “spoilers.”
Other characters were convincingly played by Morgan Thomas-Mills (the earnest CBS studio director), Carson Betts (his assistant director), Carolyn Demanelis (a sexy vaudeville nurse), and Joyce Bell Linzy (a real-life nurse).
The set offered a delightfully accurate view of a typical 1970s apartment. (I guess with downsizing popular today it’s not that hard to find the “real” furniture.) Still, sincere kudos to scenic designer Cheri Prough DeVol and the team that brought back an era: Adam Ditzel (lighting), Inda Blatch-Geib (costumes), and Carlton Guc (sound).
Bottom Line: A look at the past and at inevitable aging in a non-depressing way. No lectures for young people, but as a senior, I thought it funny (and probably true — but I didn’t say that.)
One Response to “THEATER REVIEW: “The Sunshine Boys” @ Beck Center by Laura Kennelly”
Tom Rathburn
Loved the show but kept thinking throughout, “Wow! Nephew Ben sure looks like Stephen Colbert”. The photo at the top of this review proves it.