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Prisoner of SecondAvenueescapesto Chatham
LeaddeliverswhatSimonsaysaboutNYCandlife
By Barbara Clark
bclark@barnstablepatriot.com
TIED TOGETHER- Jared Davis is Morris and Mbali Guliwe is Zacharia in the Monomoy Theatre's exceptional
production ofAtholFugard's BloodKnot,nowplaying.
Kszmit@barnstablepatriot.com
In
Neil Simon's 1971 comedy
ThePrisonerof
SecondAvemx
,it's
theearly 1970s,RichardNixon
ispresident, NelsonRockefelleris
governorof NewYork,andit'shot
in the borough of Queens, while
MelandEdna'supper floor apart-
ment is freezing cold because the
air conditioner is malfunctioning.
Melhasworkedupsomerighteous
anger about this and other New
Yorkproblems-pollution, noise,
rude neighbors
, garbage and so
on. He says, "If you're a human
being, you reserve the right to
complain,toprotest."Thishedoes,
noisily and at greatlength, in the
comedicrevivalnowrunningatthe
ChathamDrama Guild.
What Mel is really afraid of,
though, is losing his job, which
happens soon enough, and then
he'sina pickle.At thispoint, the
play's 1970sambienceacquiresa
distinctly contemporary feel, as
Mel finds thatjob-seekingin late
middleagehas distinct disadvan-
tages. "I'm 57 years old. When
Moses saw the burningbush, he
was23, 24 at themost." Today's
audiences can relate.
After Mel suffers what looks
like a nervous breakdown, his
wife and four siblings find vari-
ousandmostlyunfortunateways
of trying to help, but Mel, who
needed "just a little breathing
space," discovers his inner sur-
vivor just in time to pull out of
his rut, forgingwhat lookslikea
new strength from his old anger.
Accordingtotheprogramnotes,
Jeff Spencer has played the role
of Mel before, and it shows, in a
greatperformance.He "gets"this
central character's many moods,
from raucousand angryto shuf-
fling and sedated tocenteredand
in charge, alwayswitha great ear
for the nuances of playwright
Simon's slick one-liners.
Unlike Spencer, members
of the supporting cast do not
seem as adept or at ease with
theirNew Yorkerpersonas,and
havesometrouble achievingthat
"New York state of mind" for
the quick comebacks that need
to be thrown off fast and a bit
off-hand.
As Edna, Pam Banas has a
bit of a hard time keeping on
a roll with Mel's character, but
improves in the later scenes as
Edna's own stability begins to
waver, allowingBanasto "letgo"
a bit in the role.
Mel's brother, Harry (Don
Howell),showsappropriatebom-
bast as the older brother who yet
holds a core of envy for Mel's
morecandidlifestyle.SistersPearl
(KathyHamilton),Jessie(Delane
Moser) and Pauline (Kerry Chi-
arello) dither but deferto Harry's
suggestions-except when they
involve out-of-pocket spending.
Director Scott Hamilton does
a goodjob keeping a fresh wind
blowingthroughthis 1970sscript,
and dealing with the difficulties
of amid-weekopeningnightafter
stormyweatherforced postpone-
ment of the original weekend
opener.The play picks up steam
in the final scene and ends with
aninspiredtableau straightout of
an "American Gothic" painting
-worth the price of admission.
ThePrisoner of SecondAvenueis at the
ChathamDramaGuild,134CrowellRoad,
Wednesday,Thursday and Saturday at
8 p.m. and Sunday at 4 p.m. through
July 20. For tickets ($20), call 508-
945-0510or go to www.cdgonline.org
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