Playwright Paul Slade Smith returns to the ICT after his hysterically funny and original “The Outsider” from last season with his latest work “The Angel Next Door”, which blurs the line between homage and pastiche from the P.G. Wodehouse 1926 drawing room comedy “The Play’s The Thing”, adapted from the 1924 Ferenc Molnar play “Játék a Kastélyba” (Play at the Castle) borrowing the title from, of course, Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”, written in 1600.
Everything old is new again and this enjoyable romp delivers the goods as well as all that came before it, with several nods to its origins in the occasional quip from the characters about dead Hungarian authors and one of the characters names.
Geoffrey Lower, Nick Lunetta, Jessica Fishenfeld, Sky Palkowitz, Armand Akbari and Meeghan Holaway
Photo by Jordan Gohara
Production values are always top notch at ICT, and director Cate Caplin is in top form with precision work from her entire team in the blocking (more choreography!), clean lighting and the clever use of scrims to show another location separate from the excellent stage set.
Meeghan Holaway and Geoffrey Lower
Photo by Jordan Gohara
Each character is rock solid; Geoffrey Lower and Meeghan Holaway as Arthur and Charlotte Sanders are brilliant as co-conspirators who drive the plot forward. Along for the ride are the Broadway darlings hiding a secret, played flawlessly by Jessica Fishenfeld as Margot Bell and Nick Lunetta as Victor Pratt, the latter practically stealing the show with his mugging and zero self-awareness. SKY Palkowitz provides terrific comic relief as Olga Molnar and Armand Akbari minces through broad slapstick comedy and equal parts heartbreak as playwright Oliver Adams.
Nick Lunetta and Jessica Fishenfeld
Photo by Jordan Gohara
The clever device of breaking the fourth wall to describe the play-within-a-play harkens to the work of English author Dennis Potter and is not lost on the audience.
For a rollicking farce and a good time in which you too will be part of the play, this show is not to be missed.
June 11 through June 29
• Previews: Wednesday June 11 and Thursday, June 12, each at 7:30 p.m.
• Performances:
June 13 – June 29
Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. / Sundays at 2 p.m.
International City Theatre
Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center
330 East Seaside Way
Long Beach, CA 90802
$44-$59
• Opening Night (June 13): $59 (includes post-show reception with the actors)
• Sunday matinees: $59
• Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays (except Friday, June 13): $56
• Previews: $44
Discounts available for students and seniors.InternationalCityTheatre.org.
(562) 436-4610
