Thursday, October 17, 2019

Play review - "Who Was That Lady I Saw You With?" by Norman Krasna (1958)

Quintessential comedy - a comedy about a lie that gets out of control - with him taking pot shots at the Cold War in this one.

In this one a college professor is caught kissing a student by his wife - he claims the student kissed him but still it's a sleazy concept. His cocky womanising TV writer friend Mike suggests to cover it up he pretend to be a FBI agent.

The complications proceed logically - Mike gets a fake badge made by a props guy who reports him to the FBI who get involved; the wife buys it and gives her husband the green light to take out two women (a suggestion of Mike who misses his old pal David coming along to pick up women); news of David being an agent breaks; the interest of real Russian agents is provoked.

The character of Ann the wife started off smart but wound up a ditz- you'd need to cast someone who seemed naive but also full of energy like Debbie Reynolds.

I'm surprised Krasna didn't bring in the girl who kissed David (why not have her get with Mike?). I also felt the Russians should have had a spy... a traitor in the FBI or the college.

But it is bright and funny.

It reads like a film script - lots of different locations and short scenes. I get the feeling Krasna wrote this as a script first.

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