 | The Cavalier daily Wednesday, July 11, 1973 |  |
Drama Review
'Play It Again Sam'
The Virginia Players'
production of Woody Allen's
romantic comedy, Play It
Again, Sam, will be enjoyed by
many this week through
Saturday at Minor Hall.
"Romantic comedy" to
Woody Allen is what happens
when an insecure, neurotic guy
with a truly vibrant fantasy life
tries to find and seduce all
sorts of women after his wife
leaves him. With an active
sexual preoccupation brought
on by his recent rejection,
Allen, the hero, gropes through
the mists of his daydreams and
realities, aided more by his
willing
hero/conscience/counselor,
Humphrey Bogart, and less by
various unwilling long-legged
beauties, to find a better self in
the end. The one line jokes
come fast, in bunches – and
the Players carry off enough,
well enough, to make good
entertainment.
Michael Spicer, as the hero,
must be a good actor to play
the complexities of the role, a
good comedian to pull off the
majority of the jokes, and a
good commander of the play's
pace for it all to work. After a
halting start, he maintains a
fairly smooth pace; he can be
believable in the role, and he
has a couple of moves and line
deliveries that prove his
potential as a comedian. The
more laughter that came from
the audience, the crisper his
delivery became, especially in
one scene where he was trying
to seduce a girl and talk to his
counselor, Bogey; at the same
time.
Sound cuts from Casablanca
lead into each scene and
Castro, to be acceptable as the
nicotine throated
straight-talker to all late movie
fans in the audience. He does a
fine job. Bogey's (Castro's)
confidence works well on
stage, and makes his scenes
appreciated.
Linda, the best friend's
wife, is by far the most
influential female in or out of
Allen's fantasies in that part of
his life that we get to see.
Shelley Ford plays the role
smoothly, displaying
convincingly enough the wide
range of qualities and emotions
that are a part of every
All-American affair.
Susan McVeigh, the wife
Nancy, may still be learning
how to nag really weel. Robert
Santurri, the best friend Dick,
may be less clear at times than
the others. The good-looking
girls – Connie Legnini, Carole
Schneider, Mary McComas,
Lorraine Wright, Mary Leslie
Shackelford, and Gail Proctor
(and all of those fantasized by
the males in the audience) may
at times overact, but they share
the very appreciated trait of
getting themselves into parts in
a play meant to please.
The technical crew of Play
It Again, Sam has the job of
coordinating lights, sound, and
curtains with the play's many
fantasy sequences. Their
performance is noticed most
when it's not done right, and
thanked little when they do
well. The audience noticed
their performance several
times.
In the aggregate, director
George Black has put together
a good comedy (and designed a
warm, comfortable set) to
open the Virginia Players'
Summer Comedy Festival.
— Jim Noeldner
| The Cavalier daily Wednesday, July 11, 1973 | |