(Don Edelman and Mary Jane Nottage)
If
the idea of a play involving two oldsters who meet cute in a dog park sets off
your “cloying alert” alarm, you’re not alone.
But this play at the Chagrin
Valley Little Theatre features some genuinely funny lines and benefits from
delightful performances by two longtime Cleveland acting pros.
Mary Jane
Nottage plays the 70-something stylish Carol who is hit on by rumpled
octogenarian Ralph, played by CVLT fixture Don Edelman. And although the first
act seems overly long, playwright Joe DiPietro studs it with a number of
surefire jokes (“Ralph is quite a catch, he can still drive at night!” says his
sister Rose at one point).
The arc of Ralph and Carol’s relationship is not
entirely predictable, which is an unexpected treat. But the real joy is
watching these two performers do their thing. Nottage is continually engaging
as Carol, a woman who is dealing with an ill husband and, now, a rather
seriously wrinkled admirer.
And while Edelman may inventively recreate some of
his dialog as the opera-loving Ralph, he’s so experienced on stage that you
rarely see any blips. Plus, his comic timing, like Nottage’s, is spot on.
They
are supported by a solid Margo Parker as Rose and Andrew Kondik, who gamely
sings some interstitial snatches of arias as the younger Ralph.
Although there
are some static stretches in the blocking, first time director Cindee
Catalano-Edelman allows Nottage and Edelman the room to find their own beats
and tempos. And that is a pleasure to watch.
The Last Romance
Through
May 10 at the Chagrin Valley Little Theatre’s River Street Playhouse, 56 River
Street, Chagrin Falls, 440-247-8955.
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