Doug Bechtel’s brought us a real treat with Neil Simon’s “The Sunshine Boys,” his latest production for The Actors Theater of Orcas Island at the Grange. In casting John Mazzarella as Willie Clark, the curmudgeonly wiseguy comic who still resents his Vaudeville partner after 11 years of silence between them, Bechtel has chosen a strong local actor who fills his role well. Fred Whitridge is a wonderful counterpoint to Mazzarella’s manic petulance, his character of Al Lewis a man who accepts his own changed circumstances gracefully while retaining a sharp wit to parry his old partner Clark’s constant verbal jabs.
Nick Hershenow is spot-on as Ben Silverman, Clark’s nephew and theatre agent who keeps trying to make his uncle face the fact that time, and a badly slipping memory, is against the chances of his return to fame. When he succeeds in getting a final gig for the aging comedians, the two finally get together and the fur begins to fly!
Pat Ayers was just right as the buxom nurse who provides the perfect foil for the broad comedy of Lewis and Clark’s doctor skit, while Gwyneth Burrill struck all the right notes in her role as Clark’s real nurse. Greg Ayers was believable as Eddie, the stage manager, and it was a delight to finally see Doug Bechtel trod the boards. But Whitridge and Mazzarella stole the show, with Mazzarella’s endless need for revenge for his wounded pride wrapped in an edifice of tired one-liners and vitriolic jabs, while Whitridge’s pointed rejoinders, delivered with a well-timed, glacial formality, easily pierced the wounded walls of emotion constructed by his old partner. These are two very, very fine performances by two men of deep character and obvious ability. We should all be so lucky.
The well-designed set, highly competent crew, and a director who gets the underlying rhythms in Simon’s play combine with a well-chosen cast to produce one of the funniest evenings you’ll spend this year.
This delightful production of “The Sunshine Boys” by Neil Simon is playing at the Grange on June 25, 26, and 27.
