‘Romance’ a lively, witty romp
By Andrew Tallackson
Staff Writer
MICHIGAN CITY — Once you realize precisely what its ambitions are, “Romance Romance” is grand entertainment.
The aha moment, thankfully, arrives quickly. Before then — 10 minutes into the tale — I had made a somewhat frustrated mental note: “What is this?”
Then, Kaylee Annable — she of the soaring vocals and a face ripe for mischief — performs a witty musical number with increasingly bawdy lyrics. You realize “Romance Romance” is about to take a playful, satirical and, as we learn in Act Two, thoughtful look at love past and present.
The play exists as two separate tales connected by songs, themes and actors.
In Act 1, “The Little Comedy,” Alfred (Daniel Whitaker) and Josefine (Annable) are lovers in turn-of-the-century Vienna who refuse to speak the truth of who and what they truly are.
In Act 2, “Summer Share,” Sam (Matthew Carroll) and Monica (Danielle Gendron) are best friends vacationing with their spouses in the Hamptons in the late 1980s when, much like Harry and Sally, they realize a man and woman can’t be close without physical attraction getting in the way.
Darting in and out of both tales are Shane Miller and Asha Stichter. They exist as the comic relief, gloriously so in Act II when “My Love for You” takes a laugh-out-loud look at love persisting into old age.
What we have in “Romance Romance” are charades: people lying to themselves, to each other, to those closest to them. Act. 1 ends with a bang, Act II with a bit of melancholy.
The talent director Ray Scott Crawford has assembled is impeccable. Whether singing alone or together, Whitaker and Annable have marvelous voices, although Whitaker needs to relax so he comes across as having fun. In Act II, when Sam and Monica realize they can’t deny their feelings, Carroll and Gendron give their scenes an air of release, desperation and, ultimately, wise acceptance. Gendron, in particular, lends the songs an aching sense of longing.
There wasn’t much of an audience during “Romance Romance” when I reviewed the play. That’s a shame. This is first-rate entertainment. These Canterbury Summer Theatre performers deserve to be seen and, more importantly, savored.
If You Go
“Romance Romance” continues at Mainstreet Theatre, 807 Franklin St., through July 2. All show times are 2 p.m. Wednesday, 8 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and 5 and 8 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $13.50 on weeknights and $15 on weekends. Tickets can be ordered at www.festivalplayersguild.org. Call the Mainstreet box office at 874-4269 for additional information.
The aha moment, thankfully, arrives quickly. Before then — 10 minutes into the tale — I had made a somewhat frustrated mental note: “What is this?”
Then, Kaylee Annable — she of the soaring vocals and a face ripe for mischief — performs a witty musical number with increasingly bawdy lyrics. You realize “Romance Romance” is about to take a playful, satirical and, as we learn in Act Two, thoughtful look at love past and present.
The play exists as two separate tales connected by songs, themes and actors.
In Act 1, “The Little Comedy,” Alfred (Daniel Whitaker) and Josefine (Annable) are lovers in turn-of-the-century Vienna who refuse to speak the truth of who and what they truly are.
In Act 2, “Summer Share,” Sam (Matthew Carroll) and Monica (Danielle Gendron) are best friends vacationing with their spouses in the Hamptons in the late 1980s when, much like Harry and Sally, they realize a man and woman can’t be close without physical attraction getting in the way.
Darting in and out of both tales are Shane Miller and Asha Stichter. They exist as the comic relief, gloriously so in Act II when “My Love for You” takes a laugh-out-loud look at love persisting into old age.
What we have in “Romance Romance” are charades: people lying to themselves, to each other, to those closest to them. Act. 1 ends with a bang, Act II with a bit of melancholy.
The talent director Ray Scott Crawford has assembled is impeccable. Whether singing alone or together, Whitaker and Annable have marvelous voices, although Whitaker needs to relax so he comes across as having fun. In Act II, when Sam and Monica realize they can’t deny their feelings, Carroll and Gendron give their scenes an air of release, desperation and, ultimately, wise acceptance. Gendron, in particular, lends the songs an aching sense of longing.
There wasn’t much of an audience during “Romance Romance” when I reviewed the play. That’s a shame. This is first-rate entertainment. These Canterbury Summer Theatre performers deserve to be seen and, more importantly, savored.
If You Go
“Romance Romance” continues at Mainstreet Theatre, 807 Franklin St., through July 2. All show times are 2 p.m. Wednesday, 8 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and 5 and 8 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $13.50 on weeknights and $15 on weekends. Tickets can be ordered at www.festivalplayersguild.org. Call the Mainstreet box office at 874-4269 for additional information.
http://www.thenewsdispatch.com/articles/2011/06/24/features/on_the_go/doc4e0410c15fecd616075853.txt
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