Hand It to Him
Should a moderately disciplined person be asked to sit in a darkened movie theatre with only his wife and nothing else in either hand?
You are asked to make sacrifices for Passover. Since most soda is not kosher for Passover, you are restricted to 2-litre bottles.
A Worse Fate
Would you risk being mistaken for a Democrat by drinking directly from a 2-litre container?
Our less couth liberal colleagues have inspired a national mania by popularizing this exceedingly gross habit.
Watch them at public meetings and similar enclosed enclaves.
In a ‘Manner’ of Speaking
Displaying a puerile lack of self-control — and, just because they can — liberals love to gulp down so-chic bottled water, straight out of the container yet, offending their sensible witnesses as well as ruffling rudimentary etiquette.
Since movies were out-of-bounds for a Saturday night, since no popcorn is sold for stage plays, and since we have been returning, increasingly, to live theatre lately, what used to be called the legitimate theatre bobbed up on our personal screens.
Merely Logical
The Westchester Playhouse, which has been around for years, unpatronized by our household, was an easy first choice.
One of the playwright Neil Simon’s almost-but-not-quite autobiographical productions was the lure, “Biloxi Blues.” It is a comedic, crisply-written, fast-paced account of an ill-prepared Jew’s introduction to wartime Army life in 1943 in Jewishly allergic Mississippi.
No Lizzie Borden
Directed by Larry Jones and produced by Jim Crawford, the Broadway-worthy Kentwood Players are so polished they may put Johnson’s Wax out of business.
The Kentwood troupe, based at the wonderfully cozy Westchester Playhouse, has been around since the middle of the past century, even if last night’s relatively youthful cast has not.
Especially Bradley Jennings, Daniel Farber, Michael Allen and Matthew Artson were sterling, as good as I have seen, stage or screen.
Happily Imprisoned
For 2 hours and 10 minutes, we were helplessly captivated, richly entertained, disarmingly distracted.
I don’t know who the casting director is. But she or he merits a deep and courtly bow for extraordinary insight.
Each of the 9 players excelled so perfectly in his role that none could have performed in a different responsibility. Any shift would not only have disturbed but demolished the perfectly pitched dynamics.
Money-Back, Pal
No matter how many times you visit the Music Center, I guarantee you will not see a smarter, more professional, more engulfing production this year. If you disagree after trying the Westchester Playhouse, I — not they — will give you your money back.
As if you were reading a novel by Henry James, the Master, the Simon dialogue is the best the theatre can craft.
The Crucial Elements
But it takes persons such as Mr. Jones, Mr. Crawford and Sheldon Metz, who doubles as president of the Kentwood Players Board of Directors and the set designer, to make community theatre work.
There is, of course, one more piece, you, to fill the seats.
Culver City was well represented in the audience, as close as the second row, by the senior Blair Hills community activist Mim Shapiro and her superbly conditioned husband Hank. He was happily bouncing around like a rubber ball.
In Westchester, we climbed a mountain last night. We stood at the peak of community playhouse outings.
One Reason for Support
Many persons support their community playhouses obligatorily, because they are related to or friendly with one of the players.
We had no such crutch.
For the most demanding critic, the pristine professionalism of the Kentwood Players will challenge him.
For the rest of us, the pricing is eminently affordable ($14 for students and seniors, $16 for middle earthlings. The Kentwood Players mount 6 plays a year, every 2 months, at the Westchester Playhouse.
Dad Calling
Driving home afterward, we were so enthused we telephoned my son AJ, the budding actor. We encouraged him to join us on the next outings, and to check out the Kentwood Players for his own benefit.
In the near term, they are playing Stephen Sondheim’s “Follies,” May 4-June 16, Maugham’s “The Constant Wife,” July 6-Aug. 11, and Dickens’ “The Mystery of Edwin Drood,” Sept. 7-Oct. 20.
Where Are They Now?
The intimate Westchester Playhouse, at 8301 Hindry Ave., at the southern tip of Westchester, is in an industrial neighborhood, east of Sepulveda, 2 blocks north of Manchester. 310.645.5156 and kentwoodplayers.org.
With Passover ending on Tuesday night, we will return to Westchester even when we can munch popcorn in theatres again.
