JOE'S BLOG - NOVEMBER 2013

[Click on thumbnails for full size pictures]

I continue to enjoy the offerings at Bromley Little Theatre more than I can express.  The most recent was Neil Simon's Plaza Suite which I find one of his "thinnest" offerings and certainly not to be compared with The Prisoner of Second Avenue, Come Blow Your Horn, The Sunshine Boys and Barefoot in the Park . . . as well as many others.  But even Simon, when not at his best, is head and shoulders above most other comic playwrights today.  His script always gives his players a great opportunity to showcase their comedic talents and, true to their anticipated form, the Bromley Little Theatre players gave it their all and produced what was, for me, another memorable theatrical experience that left my ribs aching.

I suspect that any weakness that exists in Plaza Suite derives from the fact that what would have been the most exciting act (the fourth) was excised before the play was released by Simon and, instead, produced as a full-length movie: The Out-of-Towners.  Unsurprisingly the greater scope of the cinema screen allowed him the leeway to provide a wonderful platform of which the original leads of Jack Lemmon and Sandy Dennis took full advantage.  Alas the subsequent remake with Steve Martin and Goldie Hawn in the leading roles did not, I believe, measure up to the original, even though I have thoroughly enjoyed both actors performances in other shows.