It’s Only a Play…Yet So Much More!

Stan Yeend and Adam Randall
Photo by Alicia Turvin

By Tina Arth

I am sometimes annoyed when “loud laughers” at comedies seem to be overdoing the frequency and volume of their merriment.  Last Saturday night at Twilight Theater Company’s It’s Only a Play I was forced to rethink this reaction when I realized that the noisy broad in the front row was…me. The combination of a beautifully written and updated script (nice job, Terrence McNally!), a director with an eagle eye for comedic casting (nice job, Jason A. England!), a theater company with the reputation to draw the finest (nice job, Twilight!), and, well, the finest (nice job, cast!) means that once again audiences should flock to North Portland for an evening (or two) of superb entertainment.

In keeping with Twilight’s 2018 theme, “The Play Is the Thing,” the show is all about theater. It’s set in the Manhattan bedroom of a first-time Broadway producer – a huge opening night party is going on downstairs, but the bedroom is occupied (in fits and starts) by the director, one of the stars, the producer, the playwright, the playwright’s best friend, a critic, and an aspiring actor temping as a waiter. An unseen terror of a terrier lurks in the adjoining bathroom, ready to mangle even the largest ego in its tiny teeth (having already allegedly torn Kelly Ripa’s face to shreds – and who hasn’t considered doing that at least once?).  As the various characters wait for the first reviews, we are treated to two acts of smartly scripted angst and loving parody delivered with laser-like precision at everyone involved in theater that leaves no one untouched – even a heaping side-helping of scorn for television.

First among equals is Jeff Gibberson, playing best friend/sitcom star James Wicker. From the moment he appears on stage his timing and bearing create an unforgettably delicious character. When I checked out YouTube videos of the show’s Broadway production, I found myself (silently, so as not to upset the dogs) yelling “No! Do it like Gibberson!” at star Nathan Lane.  Jennifer Logan’s take on producer Julia Budder leaves no comic stone unturned – she is sweetly dumb as only a very, very rich woman can be, and her unique pronunciation (in particular, “theatruh” and “Irvine Berling”) tell us everything we need to know about first-time producers. I had to check last year’s review to confirm that she really is the same actor whose powerful performance rocked The Normal Heart last year – but that’s what acting is all about.

Adam Randall as the star-struck wannabe actor Gus P. Head is the first person we see. His eager-to-please attitude and vaguely Midwestern twang speak volumes about a character whose IQ seriously rivals that of the producer, especially when combined with his olfactory obsession with the coats of New York’s rich and famous – in fact, the coats play such an integral role that they should probably get their own bios. I nearly lost it (for about the twentieth time) when he leapt on the settee to deliver his own special a cappella take on “Defying Gravity.”  It’s sometimes difficult to look away from Conor Nolan as British director Frank Finger, and it’s not just his startling suit or obsessive kleptomania. Whether center stage or not, his anxious eyes and tense frame express a rivetingly controlled neurosis that lead inexorably toward his final meltdown.

Deone Jennings finds a lot of humor in washed up actress Virginia Noyes’ frantic attempts to control her anxiety attacks with baggies of magic pills, and her best moments are the ones when her ankle monitor behaves like a shock collar on steroids – the sunburned legs, while perhaps unintentional, just make it funnier. As misanthropic critic Ira Drew, Stan Yeend is a nice mixture of venom and vulnerabilty – clearly, he has an agenda of his own and more than a touch of most un-critic-like insecurity that gradually humanize him.  Finally, there’s Rick Barr as playwright Peter Austin – a bit of a thankless role, as he comes closest to playing the straight man, but he manages to make us care a little – not an easy task on a stage dominated by swirling eddies of high and low farce.

Scott Miler’s set and Mikaela Gladstone Saucedo’s costumes are perfect for the locale and personas – Broadway glitterati and nouveau riche décor appropriate to any era. Do not miss the portrait of Julia and her dog – one of those small touches that make the whole thing even funnier! Time permitting, I may have to go back to this one, and I hope to see many of you there.

Twilight Theater Company’s It’s Only a Play is playing at the Performing Arts Theater, 7515 N. Brandon Avenue, Portland through Sunday, May 13th with performances at 8 P.M. Thursday, Friday and Saturday and 3:00 P.M. Sunday.