If there is one playwright who has captured the idiosyncrasies of human relationships —warts and all— it has to be Neil Simon.
The Bronx-born author of such gems as The Odd Couple, Goodbye Girl, Biloxi Blues, Lost in Yonkers, The Dinner Party… the list goes on and on, is a favourite for any director wanting to make the most out of Simon’s funny and dramatic dialogue.
Vernon’s Monty Hughes is one of those directors.
About to stage Simon’s Last of the Red Hot Lovers at Powerhouse Theatre, Hughes says Simon’s work is timeless, and it hits all the right buttons — humour, pathos, pain, sorrow — as it closely examines the often absurd behaviour of man and woman.
“Simon spends an inordinate amount of time on each line, getting the moment just right,” said Hughes. “Although (Lovers) is funny, there’s something serious in nature about it. Simon’s humour is not malicious, but it’s cunning. There is always an ounce of truth in the humour.”
A retired teacher with the Vernon school district, Hughes returns to Powerhouse after last helming the Irish penned play, The Loves of Cass McGuire, four seasons ago. He has since been travelling the province and beyond to direct community productions.
He directed Leading Ladies at a theatre in Fairbanks, Alaska, and just worked on another Simon play, Lost in Yonkers, for Many Hats Theatre in Penticton in the fall.
“When I did Lost in Yonkers, the third act is not exactly funny, and you could hear sobbing in the audience. You know you’ve done your job well if you are getting that kind of reaction,” he said.
Hughes is hoping for the same kind of reaction with Last of the Red Hot Lovers.
“This one takes its time to get to the sense of what Simon is telling us as human beings. I find that interesting. Act III also shows the serious part about human relations,” said Hughes.
The play follows the travails of married man Barney Cashman, the owner of a successful seafood restaurant who is stuck in the depths of a mid-life crisis.
Not dissimilar to the female lead character’s dilemma in the last play Powerhouse staged, Becky’s New Car, this time it’s the male lead who finds his marriage is no longer providing him with a sense of romantic adventure.
So when Barney discovers his mother’s apartment is empty one day a week, he decides that a series of extra-marital affairs is just what he needs.
Each of the three acts follows an encounter with a different woman — and, of course, being a Simon play, the ends don’t exactly justify the means.
“The first woman (Elaine) is callous about relationships. Barney, naively, wants a relationship for the rest of his life, but she’s only in it for the afternoon,” said Hughes.
Meanwhile, the second woman, Bobbi, has no idea what she is getting into and has some idiosyncrasies of her own.
The third woman, Janette, is Barney’s best friend’s wife who finds out her husband is cheating and she wants to get even.
“This is where Simon’s voice really comes in,” said Hughes. “Barney articulates in the third act what he’s really wanting: He wants a gentle, kind and decent person. He feels it and he realizes it can’t happen with sex alone. It’s about finding out what’s on the inside, and it takes him two hours to figure it out.”
Carrying the load of the weight as Barney is actor Colin Carney, who played Bill Sykes in Powerhouse’s production of Oliver! in 2007, which also happened to be directed by Hughes, while Patty Garrett, Bev Steeves and Beverley Peacock play Elaine, Bobbi and Janette, respectively.
Those who love Simon’s plays will notice how the dialogue between the characters builds, and you can also use your own imagination to read between the lines, said Hughes.
“Simon doesn’t do shtick. His words are honest and quirky and his characters say really funny things. You don’t have to suspend your belief — it’s real people who are not always making the best decisions.”
Last of the Red Hot Lovers stages at Powerhouse Theatre April 24 to May 4 at 8 p.m. with no shows on Mondays. A Sunday matinée takes place April 28 at 2 p.m. Tickets are available at the Ticket Seller, 250-549-7469, www.ticketseller.ca. The play contains adult situations and is not recommended for young children.
