God’s Favorite
ITOPA
By Neil Simon
Directed by Lara Larmour
Approximate running time:
2 hours (with one 10 minute interval)
June 13, 14, 15*, 19, 20,
21 and 22* (* 2 p.m. matinees)
Box Office: 519-485-3070
Review by Geoff Dale
INGERSOLL
– Neil
Simon is arguably the most prolific, successful and beloved playwright in the
world. With countless Tony and Oscar nominations to his name, his works include
some of the most recognizable comedies and musicals on the planet.
The mere mention of productions
like The Odd Couple (Broadway, silver screen and
television versions), Plaza Suite, Sweet
Charity and Brighton
Beach Memoirs brings
a proverbial smile to the faces of those who live for clever, crisp dialogue,
beautifully etched two-dimensional characters, rapid-fire one-liners and
zingers that liven so much of his work.
So why preface a theatrical
review with a glowing and seemingly unnecessary portrait of Simon?
Well, there’s the matter of
the puzzling God’s Favorite,
one of the playwright’s lesser known creations, a curious comedy – with a
decidedly dark side. It has divided both audiences and theatre pundits since
its rather short run on Broadway of 119 performances and seven previews from
the winter of 1974 to the spring of 1975.
ITOPA, one of Southwestern
Ontario’s most innovative and daring risk-taking theatrical companies, has
taken it upon itself to launch a version of the work. We give the troupe high
marks for such a venture and, on the plus side, in most instances the group
does an admirable job, certainly in terms of acting and the eye-catching
imaginative set design by Harold Arbuckle and Lara Larmour, who also deserves
kudos for her directorial debut.
Yet,
one has to wonder – is the company superior to the content of the play, even
when the writer is the acclaimed Neil Simon? Your humble scribe subscribes to
that very thought. While it was abundantly clear the opening night audience was
thrilled by the presentation, it still remains a puzzling theatrical
presentation.
So what is God’s
Favorite all
about?
At first glance it hardly
looks like a piece destined to be known for producing endless chuckles and
knee-slapping guffaws. Loosely based on the Biblical book of Job – it openly
asks the question, why do the righteous suffer?
Simon’s play is set in a
Long Island mansion of the well-to-do Benjamin family. The main characters are
the God-fearing father loving Joe, his loving wife Rose, prodigal son David
(calling on yet another Biblical theme), two odd twins Ben and Sarah, along
with the dutiful and exceptionally loyal maid Mady and butler Morris.
One night a loose-limbed,
oddly dressed bespectacledstranger Sidney Lipton (with a big G on his
sweatshirt) – claiming to be a messenger from God – stumbles onto the
property. Dancing about the house in a delightfully frantic manner, he
repeatedly tempts a dumbstruck Joe to renounce God. He repeatedly refuses,
finding himself visited in the most horrific manner by all afflictions
imaginable. He stands firm and the messenger has to admit defeat.
In the Biblical narrative,
Job – the unyielding main of faith – enjoys vast wealth, a loving wife and
healthy children. All is well until Satan confronts the Almighty and the test
begins to determine his faith with the loss of his wealth, culminating in a
wide range of agonizing ailments.
Biblical followers know the
outcome so, without hesitation of delivering one of those dreaded spoiler
alerts, let’s cut to the quick – you also know how God’s
Favorite turns
out.
So what you have in the
Simon version, in the guise of a rather grim comedy, is a theological test of
unwavering faith. Not exactly the mind of material one would expect from a
playwright like Simon. What doesn’t really help are great helpings of rather
obvious and often quite silly dialogue, punctuated by the sprinkling of
numerous pop culture references, much like movies of today that rely on spot
product placements.
A prime example is the
devil’s physical appearance being compared to Robert Redford – ‘the good
looking one from Butch Cassidy and The Sundance
Kid’. Cute but hardly profound. Act One, which is by any
theatrical standards simply too long, also suffers from repetitive phrases and
gags that, while superficially funny, often seem awkward and ill-placed.
Yet to be fair to Simon, it
is a well-known fact that he, even reportedly admitted by the playwright, wrote God’s
Favorite after
the sudden death of his wife 41-year-old dancer Joan Baim in 1973. It’s a
tragedy that clearly explains his mental state at the time and the probable
reason for this uncustomary bout of theatrical moralizing.
The good news is that the
cast, in expected ITOPA fashion, is more than up to the task of handling such a
difficult production. Stuart Crew, in his riches to rags role as the
flabbergasted Joe is superb, delivering a performance that shows moments of
desperation, confusion and bewilderment at these catastrophic turn of events.
Tayler Claessens
demonstrates a wonderful set of theatrical skills as the oft-times drunken and
strangely philosophical David, the prodigal son that tests both the patience of
his loving family and, dare we suggest this, the Almighty One himself. A
top-notch comic actor, he adds genuine color and a much welcomed sense of
physicality (a touch of Dick Van Dyke) to his role.
The entire company –
including the whole Benjamin clan and the long-suffering maid and butler – puts
in a solid night, tackling the often strange antics and interactions earnestly
and with unfaltering gusto.
The highlight of the
production has to be Joel Catlack’s wacky and slam-bam, take-no-prisoners
outing as the down-on-his-luck Sydney Lipton, the most unorthodox
characterization of a messenger from God that has ever graced the theatre. He
is an outrageously funny stage actor who knows no bounds when it comes to
throwing himself – quite literally – into a role.
Larmour, a highly capable
production specialist in a variety of other off-stage areas, handles the pacing
in a proficient manner, even though the aforementioned first act is simply too
long.
It simply boils down to a
couple of questions? Do you find family homes burnt to the ground and an
onslaught of piles, uncontrollable itchy skin diseases, gonorrhea and a host of
other painful, excruciating diseases funny and the basis for a comic theological
test?
If so, then God’s
Favorite should
be your cup of tea and ITOPA, as always, certainly gives the play that old
college try.
A lingering question mark
for Neil Simon but hats off to ITOPA.
3 ½ out of 5 stars
This review also appeared online at Donald's Dish
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