It’s been said of sex (and by comparison, pizza,) that even when it’s bad, it’s still pretty good. The same may be said of your typical Neil Simon comedy (“The Star-Spangled Girl” anyone?). Of course, when it’s good, it’s the stuff of Tony Awards and surefire packed houses in little theaters o’er the land, like Spotlighters in downtown Baltimore.
Directors Bob Russell and Ivan Lawson have done a superlative job in bringing Simon’s “London Suite” to Spotlighters’ diminutive stage (now featuring all-new cushioned seats). The third in Simon’s comic “Suite” series, following “Plaza Suite” (1968) and “California Suite” (1976), this excellent 1995 installment features four one-act plays, each taking place in the same room at London’s Connaught Hotel overlooking Hyde Park.
» Venue: The Spotlighters Theatre, 817 St. Paul St., Baltimore
» When: Now through Feb. 1, Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m.; Sunday at 2 p.m. ; one Thursday performance, Jan. 29 at 8 p.m.
» Tickets: $18 for adults, $15 for students and seniors
» Info: 410-752-1225; www.spotlighters.org
With a bit of carpet, a chaise lounge, a lick of paint and a drape or two, Spotlighters creates a convincing illusion of a quaint London hotel room. Pre-taped pieces are played between each act, a simple and effective device for exposition.
In “Settling Accounts,” Brian (Frank Vince) is a writer of renown all but past who discovers his manager and monetary adviser of 20 years, Billy (Todd Krickler), about to abscond with his life’s savings. Brian achieves a measure of revenge for every numerically challenged English major who never had and never will have any interest in finance.
Lauren (Megan Therese Rippey) is the 31-year-old would-be matchmaker and daughter of Mrs. Semple (Hillary Mazer), a widow who won’t get near a gym but has no problem walking 14 blocks with 40 pounds of the finest Harrods shoe department has to offer in “Going Home.” Mazer is exemplary as a garish-but-not-painfully-so American who finds there’s other ways to bond with her daughter beyond grandchildren.
Conni Ross and Jonathan Claiborne are “Diana and Sidney” (characters based on a similar pair from “California Suite”), an aging sitcom diva and her bisexual ex-husband who is hoping to secure a financial legacy for his dying lover. What serious drama there is in “London Suite” takes place here, as Simon delves the issue of lost love from assorted angles.
The pathos quickly dissipates with the slapstick “Man on the Floor,” where bittersweet heartbreak is replaced with ruptured disks, missing Wimbledon tickets and an unseen Kevin Costner. Todd Krickler, Victoria Mansuri, Joy Baldwin, Jonathan Claiborne and Frank Vince channel a bit of the spirit of the Marx Brothers, thanks to Simon’s crack-wise script and a bevy of well-timed pratfalls (one suggestion though: Lose the English accents. Too phony).
