Light Lemonade at NJ Rep

Ben Masur, Stephanie Dorian,
Dana Benningfield, Bruce Faulk
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Back in the era when Otto Preminger's movie version of F. Hugh
Herbert's piffling “sex comedy” The Moon is Blue was
condemned by the Legion of Decency, Lemonade , the new
comedy by Mike Folie at New Jersey Repertory, would have been
a sensation (if anyone would have had the nerve to produce it).
However, a half century and sexual revolution later, this not
unpleasant comedy's mechanistic plot will likely confine its
appeal to community theaters and summer stock. It may even provide
titillation to the more sheltered audience members of such venues.
While not long on originality, the setup is interesting and
workable, and there is a good deal of snappy repartee throughout.
Carl and Jim, who were friends in college, meet in a bar ten
years later. The philandering and boastful Carl is married with
baby. The single Jim is monomaniacally married to his successful
business. Carl convinces Jim to come to his home for dinner and
an introduction to a suitable woman.
Unaware that her longtime best friend, the high powered Betsy,
is in the midst of a protracted affair with Carl, his wife Jane
invites Betsy to meet Jim. However, Jim falls in love at first
sight with Jane. Jim and Betsy feign interest in each other in
order to facilitate their respective designs of winning Jane
and Carl.
As soon as Jim and Betsy embark on their plan, they begin to
sleep together. All this occurs early on in the first of two
acts.
Improbabilities already abound. Would Carl and Jane not have
discussed whom Jane would arrange for Jim to meet? Would Betsy
not have told Carl of the invitation, and refused it? Would the
shy Jim, who is so smitten with Jane, climb right into bed with
Betsy? Would Betsy ....?
Any number of ever more improbable twists and turns, several
of which require members of the foursome to act totally contrary
to character, remain to be played out before the final curtain.
Although the ending is essentially the one which you would expect
from the early exposition, Carl is so obnoxiously full of himself
that it is hard to understand what either Jane or Betsy can see
in him. The expected, conventional ending is doubling unsatisfying
because of the nature of the characters and their relationships.
The young cast projects a breezy likeability despite a tendency
to come on too strong. This is especially true in the case of
Bruce Faulk as Carl. His breezy aggressiveness makes Faulk likeable
while rendering his Carl overly obnoxious. Quite a dichotomy
here.
Ben Masur as Jim and Dana Benningfield
as Jane are especially appealing and generate a surprising
amount of chemistry. Benningfield is an ideal Jane. However, there is an unprincipled side to Jim
which Masur's performance fails to explore.
Stephanie Dorian captures the confidence, toughness, aggressive
sexuality and neediness of Betsy. It is an especially well nuanced
performance.
Director Evan Bergman keeps everything moving along brightly
and breezily. Jo Winiarski's handsome all-purpose set provides
several comfortable playing areas on two levels. Patricia E.
Doherty provides attractive costumes. Jeff Greenberg's lighting
is appropriately bright and crisp.
New Jersey Rep's next two productions are quite ambitious and
weighty - Old Clown Wanted , the U.S. premiere of a
play by Romanian playwright Matei Visniec, and Whores ,
a politically charged play by Lee Blessing. For now, with its
current production of the light Lemonade , weighty matters
will just have to wait.
Lemonade continues performances through June 6, 2004
at the New Jersey Repertory's Lumia Theatre, 179 Broadway, Long
Branch, NJ 07740, box office:732-229-3166; on-line: www.njrep.org .
Lemonade by Mike Folie, directed by Evan Bergman.
Cast (in alphabetical order): Dana Benningfield (Jane); Stephanie
Dorian (Betsy); Bruce Faulk (Carl); Ben Masur (Ben)
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in New Jersey
- Bob Rendell
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