GRAND HORIZONS – Written by Bess Wohl; Directed by Bernie Cardell. Produced by Vintage Theatre (1468 Dayton Street, Aurora) through April 27. Tickets available at 303-856-7830 or VintageTheatre.org.
There is just something inherently funny about a mature (supposedly) long-married couple exchanging insults. They know each other well enough to hit the right buttons. The long-married couple in GRAND HORIZONS has entered that “why am I still with this person?” syndrome, resulting in misery for them and comic enjoyment for the audience. Along the way, we discover that hearing older folk discuss their sex problems and pleasures can be both embarrassing and hysterical.
It doesn’t help that the warring couple, Nancy and Bill, are played by local theatrical legends Deb Persoff and Verl Hite – both comfortable with exchanging insults and affection with each other. They fit together like the proverbial hand in a glove . . . curled into a fist. They illustrate the comic aspects of a marriage on the brink with an air of civility, as in “we can get through this without losing our dignity.”
The script leads us into the reality of their situation with a quiet scene over breakfast with her reading – he trying to write a joke for his stand-up class. But it quickly goes downhill from there. The situation is not improved by the appearance of their two grown sons, Ben and Brian, played by the brilliant Luke Rahmsdorff-Terry and Mark Pergola, who have both been gone from Denver stages far too long. They also bring long-simmering rivalries into this situation with their parents, like real brothers. They are accompanied by Ben’s very pregnant wife Jess (Jennifer So), easily the least volatile in the family. Even she grows a little tiresome with her social-worker attempts to mediate the family. The bottom line, however, is that these people genuinely care for each other. There is such an authentic air of familiarity in this group of players, you can believe that they are truly family. But the F in this Family stands for fun.
The cast is completed with the appearance of Tommy, a one-night stand picked up by Brian. Johnathan Underwood brings a flirty charm to a guy just looking for a good time in an awkward situation. The final member is Linda Suttle as Carla, the inevitable other woman in this equation. A very funny scene between Nancy and Carla illustrates their determination to handle the situation like two reasonable adults. Nancy even tells Carla that she’s the answer to Nancy’s prayer. Which results in a sea change in the whole dynamic.
The husband and wife in WAR OF THE ROSES have nothing on this family, with each displaying their own particular set of problems. Has anyone grown or changed much by the end of this episode in their lives by the end of the evening? Not especially. But they all move on with affection for each other. And isn’t that what we really all do when faced with family issues? But they certainly provide a lot of laughs for their audience in the meantime.
A WOW factor of 8.50!!