The moment I walked into the theatre to see The Angel Next Door by Paul Slade Smith, I had a clue about the play. Mind you, it only confirmed what the poster hinted. One room with that many doors indicated farce. Doors to hide into, to slam, to try to keep shut, etc.
And I was wrong. Not a farce, really, but a very charming romantic comedy set in the 1948 but with a much more modern sensibility (in some ways).
Initially we meet playwrights Charlotte (Meeghan Holaway) and Arthur (Geoffrey Lower), a married couple escorting their young friend, novelist Oliver (Armand Akbari) to a trip/visit in an opulent seaside mansion in Newport, Rhode Island. Oliver has written a novel the pair have already adapted into a play, a novel titled The Angel Next Door, inspired by his newfound loving relationship with Broadway star Margot Bell (Jessica Fishenfeld). She also is a guest for this weekend soiree, in fact her bedroom is next door to this one.
Almost immediately the two playwrights begin expounding on how this might work as the opening of a play, about how exposition might establish who they are, where the audience might be, etc. This, coupled with the whole notion of the play being titled after a novel (and play) within the play is all a bit "meta" which need not be bad at all, but to be honest I don't think the humor quite works.
But as it happens, this is among the few things in the show that don't work. Mostly it is a lovely, funny, energetic pair of acts full of entertaining characters, lively situations, an ultimately very compelling (and funny) plot which belongs it this, its own little world. I left the theatre grinning, and laughed often during the show simply seeing how certain things were getting set up.
To be sure, Act Two is better than Act One, but that really isn't a criticism of the latter.
What follows is a roller coaster of misunderstandings vast and tiny, revelations wonderful and horrific, over-reactions slight and earth-shaking. Our leads see a series of disasters unfold and ultimately decide to use their playwriting skills to "re-write" events into a happy ending. That they (or more accurately, she) succeed in ways they did not expect adds to the fun--and fun is what a play like this is all about. Yet there is more than fun. A genuine love story emerges, two if you count how the two leads work in sync and mutual appreciation.
More, one absolutely scene-stealing character named Olga (SKY Palkowitz) undergoes a transformation glorious to behold, a grim-faced maid weary of dealing with what she calls 'Theatre People' (i.e. lazy crazy individuals she resents). Yet as she gets drawn into the plot, she sees the world anew and embraces it with a simple, powerful flamboyance I don't want to spoil by describing.
She isn't the only one who changes. Oliver and Margot, the couple our leads are trying to save (for selfish as well as compassionate reasons), both grow and change in a surprisingly lovely manner. A counterpoint to all this, with great comedic effect, is very handsome and talented and stupid leading man Victor (Nick Lunetta).
The charm of this show proves intense, not least as some very real emotional grounding proves intrinsic to the climax. Laughs, grins, thrills, plus a few strong plucks upon the heart strings makes a very enjoyable show indeed.
The Angel Next Door plays June 29, 2025 on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. at the International City Theatre, Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center, 330 East Seaside Way, Long Beach, CA 90802
1 comment:
sounds really cute tbh!
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