February 06, 2008

Sue Pascoe , Staff Writer

'Social Security,' written by screenwriter Andrew Bergman ('The In-laws,' 'Fletch,' 'Blazing Saddles') has lots of laughs and the actors deliver them all.

The name of the play, now on stage at the Morgan-Wixson Theatre, may not entice a playgoer, but the humor, the acting, and the direction of this comedy should because this perfectly enjoyable production amounts to a delightful evening of theater.

The story revolves around Manhattan art dealers David and Barbara Kahn, who seem to have everything going for them until Barbara's uptight sister, Trudy, and her accountant husband, Martin, arrive. They explain that their crotchety, overbearing septuagenarian matriarch, Sophie, must stay with David and Barbara while they rescue their daughter from the social excess of her newfound freedom at college.

Courtney Gains as David Kahn has made some excellent acting choices. He delivers his lines for maximum laughs. The 'straight man' often has a tougher job, but Susan Fronsoe as Barbara Kahn provides the exact balancing act that is needed to ensure those laughs. Fronsoe's monologue on the phone describing her day with her mother proves she knows how to handle a comedic turn. In addition, when her mother, actress Lois Bostwick, takes over the spotlight, once again Susan provides the proper foil that allows the laughs to happen.

Kat Blyska as Trudy is a perfect mess, but that is exactly what is expected from a character who has taken care of her mother for years and must now contend with an only child infatuated with her new found freedom in college. Jack Winnick, as her husband, does one funny turn after another. No stranger to a funny line, Winnick plays the character with the right amount of balance.

As Sophie, the terror of the play, Lois Bostwick has nice stage presence. Her entrance at the end of the first act, combined with the music, left the audience laughing and lamenting that the act was over. Bostwick's interchange with Len Magnus, who plays the 98-year-old icon of modern art, Maurice Koenig, was simultaneously sweet and funny.

Even though the play first ran on Broadway in 1986--when it starred Ron Silver, Marlo Thomas, Olympia Dukakis and Joanna Gleason--the writing is timeless. The problem of what to do with the aging parent and sibling rivalry is still pertinent. Playwright Bergman, who was called the unknown king of comedy by New York Magazine was chosen to receive the Writers Guild of America East's Ian McLellan Hunter Award for a Lifetime Achievement in Writing this Monday in New York City.

In a comedy, a director is like the unseen character because he helps his actors find the beats, as well as at staging it so the action flows. Lewis Hauser is to be commended for taking a well-written play and directing it so that the production is smooth with laughs abounding.

If there was any fault to find, it would be with the set. Having lived in New York City, I was confused as to whether the interior was supposed to be a brownstone or a luxury high-rise apartment, both of which would be appropriate for the Kahns. The window view would seem to indicate a brownstone, but the unseen doorman would reflect the latter. A minor point, but one worth noting.

'Social Security' runs Friday and Saturday at 8 and Sunday at 2 through February 16. For ticket information call (310) 828-7519 or visit www.morgan-wixson.org.