Star spangled production

DECEMBER 1980-HIGH GEAR Page 11

Resourceful actors create top show

By R. Woodward The cast of Cabaret Dinner Theatre's production of Star Spangled Girl (playing through December 14), Kathy Merk, John Lannigan, and Duane M. Daniels, give unusually ingratiating performances. Energetic and resourceful players, they get a vivid and persuasive presentation out of a Neil Simon script that is thin and pallid.

Neil Simon's phenomonal success as a playwright seems to be based on some uncanny knack he has for getting top players and directors to do most of the creative work. It's hard to think of any playwright as successful whose plays seem to be so non-existant when they are not being performed. (One wonders if Neil Simon could manage to buy a typewriter ribbon or a tube of Preparation H without bringing an actor along to speak the words).

Written and set in 1967, Star Spangled Girl deals with two young men, Andy and Norman, who went through college together, who are now the staff of a "radical" magazine they have founded. Andy, the more practical of the two, deals with business matters, and humors and cajoles Norman, who writes all of the magazine's articles, using eleven different pseudonyms. Norman, obviously regarded by Andy as being his pet genius, has a crush on Sophie Rausch-

meyer, a patriotic minded young athlete who has just moved in next door. Norman acts.as if he just reached puberty, and Sophie, who is in better physical shape.than Andy or Norman, does not welcome his attentions. Despite all that was being said and argued over in the late 1960's, there is almost no discussion or disagreement among the three characters about any specific issue, and even by the standards of a Neil Simon comedy the script is unusually superficial and evasive.

Despite being a glib cheat, however, the script is usable. Since the play's title character is an Olympic swimmer, one might compare the script to a diving board: Considered by itself it would be of practically no interest to anybody, but well trained performers can use it to display top form.

Kathy Merk, who also played a lead role in Cabaret's production of Barefoot in the Park, seems to be more successful than most actresses at making Neil Simon female characters come off as living human beings. She gets across color and passion while maintaining complete control of her characterization.

With an innate sense of proportion that never seems to fail her she makes everything in the script contribute to her charactization. Sophie's southern accent and patriotic declaimings, for

example, could easily seem to be stale old gags, but Merk puts them to work and they function as aspects of a complete personality.

Radio and television personality John Lannigan has not acted in a play in several years, but it has only taken him a couple of performances to loosen up. He is now so completely into the part of Norman that, despite speaking only what is in the script, he gives the illusion of improvising most of his lines on the spot. Cabaret productions are always notable for excellent pacing, and the director and the rest of the cast of this production must be pleased at his contributing such good timing...

Besides getting his own characterization across, Lannigan also proves that he can be relied upon as an attentive and disciplined ensemble player.

Lannigan looks much younger in person and is entirely convincing as a 26 year old. He also looks shorter, his voice is a bit higher. and (for this show at least) he dispenses completely with that hard, brassy manner he uses on the radio.

Without minimizing Norman's willful adolescent ways, which are exasperating at times, Lannigan gets across a certain appealing vulnerability of Norman's that goes along with being largely without malice or guile. The audience gets a good idea of why. Andy bothers to spend so much time and effort looking after him and of why Sophie admits at one point that his manner did strike her as being "rather sweet" at first--even if his further attentions have made him totaly obnoxious to her.

(There will probably be at least one or two impressionable souls in every audience for this show who will be convinced that Lannigan is really a teddy bear).

Duane M. Daniels as Andy gives Neil Simon's script a great deal more than Neil Simon's script gives him, bringing to life and getting good fun out of line after line of next-to-nothing dialog. (Andy has most of the play's many wisecracks, of which even

the most easy to please playgoer will find new or none worth remembering).

Even if Simon had intended to depict the most glib, superficial person on earth, the glib, superficial writing of this part would have been hard to excuse. Seldom has such a mechanically written straight-man-stooge part been foisted on an actor who is supposed to depict a pushy, dynamic, complex individual inspired by strong ideals.

Fortunately for the audience, Daniel's having no depths to explore does not keep him from giving a striking performance. He shows nearly perfect timing in punctuating his lines with facial expressions and gestures. His movement in general is such a compelling combination of vigor, control, and intelligiability that most people will be too busy enjoying him visually to notice

A Return Engagement,

how little is being said.

Director. Tom Meyrose not only keeps things moving along swiftly, he also shows a sharp eye for the most expressive ways of arranging his players and their movements within the small playing area available. He is unusually successful at getting the audience to look exactly at what he wants them to took at--as successful as it is possible to be outside a movie narrative with a lot of close-ups.

If the vocal delivery of the three players were not so expert, one would be obliged to conclude that the best way for anybody to see Star Spangled Girl would be for this cast and this director to film it after bringing back silent pictures.

λ It's

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Friday & Saturday December 12 & 13, 1980

4153 Lorain

9:00 & 11:00 p.m.

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Cleveland

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4892 Pearl Road Cleveland, Ohio 44109

DALE BELTER, Owner

John Lannigan proves that he can act in Cabaret Dinner Theatre's production of "Star Spangled Girl" (playing through December, 14 The Character he is playing is seen here ogling a next door neigh

bor

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