Having recently seen LOVE AND MERCY, the film based on the
life of Brian Wilson, seeing Neil Koenigsberg‘s OFF THE KING’S ROAD is at once charming as well as being the sort
of thing that brings one to consider the business of aging in the world, especially
in the United States and how each of us deals with the inevitable. We must employ Love and we must
absolutely employ Mercy in our dealings with one another. Having a close friend in the throes of
dementia right now and understanding more than I might like to understand
about end of life issues, absorbing the message in what we usually call a
‘straight play’ takes on a life of its own.
For more than fifty years, actor Tom Bower (Matt Browne) has
been a theatre person. Though
playing an older character, the energy of the guy is palpable. He weathers the
weary efforts of a man whose wife has died and now, he is alone and
lonely. He has been in the care of
psychiatrist Dr. Yablonsky (harried Thaddeus Shafer) for the past six months
and is now in London in an attempt to find some happiness as a widowed person. He
is dealing with major issues that have brought him all the way from California
to this charming pension, Off The King's Road, the name and the location in question.
Joel Daavid’s excellent set is put to excellent use with
excellent effects, including really effective and excellent interstitial music
by Joseph “Sloe” Slawinsky. The
matinee that I saw had a few glitches that will smooth out as the run gets
fully on its feet, however, Amy Madigan’s smooth and sensitive direction keeps her
diverse cast all on the same page and energetic.
We meet Freddie (Michael Uribes) the perfectly enthusiastic
concierge for the charming old Victorian turned guest hotel just off The King’s
Road where casual guests and one resident call home. The resident, Ellen Mellman (protean Casey Kramer), is
the very model of a slightly lumpy yet very modern middle aged Brit who is also
lonely. She brightens considerably at the arrival of Matt. She has a cat, Christina, who factors
eloquently into the plot.
Meanwhile, Matt is attempting to have some fun and with the shrink’s
help (whom he calls in the middle of the day in London and the middle of the
night in California) he employs a large blackboard to plot his London
Adventures. Matt has also factored
in something that some might find unusual for a man in or approaching his
seventies. He calls her “Jenna.” She’s inflatable and marginally cuddly. We also meet Sheena, (gorgeous Maria
Zyrianova) not the queen of the jungle, but an import from Zagreb, who firmly
requests her fee in advance.
The chemistry of the cast and the poignancy of this story
makes me want to see it again after it’s been cooking for a little while. One major issue, however, is with the conclusion
of the play. To me, how much better it would be to bring the curtain down three
minutes sooner. We were ready for
the end and for reasons that made no sense to me, it rather stumbled off into
the dark.
OFF THE KING’S ROAD
by Neil Koenigsberg
The Odyssey Theatre
2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90025
Through August 2, 2015
Tickets and Information:
323 960 7712
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