Neil Simon talked at length about the writing of this play in his memoirs, as it was such a departure for him - yes there were the one liners and a New York setting and it was based on people he knew, but it was darker and the characters even more flawed. I never saw the original, and haven't caught the film version, but I am familiar with the two lead actors in the original production - Maureen Stapleton and James Coco. Watching this production (I'd read it twice before) I could imagine both those actors in the parts and they seemed more suited than Kate Raison and Tamblyn Lord. Both are good actors, but they seem too thin and sensible than Stapleton and Coco, both of whom had a more self-destructive quality. And I never believed Danielle Carter was so stunningly pretty in her youth she'd want to hang on to it. Like a number of Simon comedies, there's a wisecracking, wise-beyond-her-years teenage daughter - a nothing much role which is hard to get much out of, and not much is got out of it here.
The Ensemble is a lovely theatre - every seat is a good one. A little old lady dropped her crutches twice but no one died.
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