{image1}"Crossing Delancey - A Romantic Comedy by Susan Sandler," was just that. A comfortable piece, peppered with enough ethnic and pro-"career woman" references to appeal to any culturally diverse or feminist viewers that might have been in the older white suburban audience at the Sunset Playhouse of Elm Grove.
Set designer J. Michael Desper did a wonderful job of constructing two separate spaces onstage, which facilitated seamless transitions from one scene to the next. One side of the stage was "New Day Books," - outfitted with bookshelves, magazine racks and a glass counter that featured books of the month. On the opposite end, Bubbie the Jewish grandmother's kitchen was like something right out of a 1950's sitcom. Desper's meticulous furnishings left nothing to the imagination - from the killer formica dinette set down to the tchachki on the shelves, not to mention the half dozen locks or so on the door.
Sound designers Elaine Rewolinski and Jan Pritzl did their best to create the feeling of being in the heart of New York City, by providing the sound of the subway train passing every once in a while. Unfortunately, their efforts were somewhat impeded by the actors' somewhat weak stage New York Jewish accents that faded in and out, especially Bubbie's. The Yiddish shtick was a bit overdone, and became grating at times. I remember thinking to myself, "If I hear 'oy vey' one more time, I'm going to scream."
Nevertheless, costume designers Pat Boeck and Betty Nordengren provided painfully authentic 1985 outfits for the main character, Izzie. Her mammoth shoulder pads underneath a brightly flowered jacket, brought back memories of those oh-so-stylish times. In the second act, she was wearing a yellow blouse with black polka dots that made me cringe in embarrassment because I think there is photographic documentation of myself in a similar outfit. On the other hand, all of the other characters were dressed in 1940's gear, including Izzie's suitor, Sam, which seemed odd.
Even though Bubbie's makeup was a bit distracting - she had these heavy black lines drawn across her neck that were visible from several rows back - she added a good deal of comic relief to an otherwise predictable love story. Bonnie Krah used some great gestures and facial expressions when recounting stories of being courted by numerous suitors in her youth.
The professional matchmaker, Hannah (Frances Klumb) also gave a good performance - perhaps because we only had to deal with her in small doses. She reminded me of an older, heavier Eudora, played by Agnes Moorhead in the TV series "Bewitched."
The mediocre, yet manipulative writer Tyler (Mark A. Lonteen) delivered some very funny lines, when bestowing the easily impressed Izzie with his charms, such as "I'm still swooning from your compliment - ha ha." Furthermore, when he lures Izzie out for a drink while her suitor is waiting for her at Bubbie's, he could have easily passed for the devil in disguise.
At this point, however, I began to feel less sympathetic with the characters and plot action in general. Maybe it was the fact that props coordinator Andrew Wetzel had Tyler and Izzie drinking wine out of champagne flutes. Perhaps it was the fact that, although there is some truth to Tyler's motto "Keep 'em waiting," it's another thing to be polishing off a second bottle of wine together, after which Izzie didn't seem a bit tipsy.
Despite the play's more preachy moments, such as when Sam reminds Izzie of how valuable Bubbie is - "You could learn a lot from your Bubbie - she knows a lot," I realized that it is this kind of line that really hits home with the target audience, who had me beat by decades. In fact, as I glanced next to me, this older woman was smiling and leaning next to her husband with her hand on his knee. At that moment, she seemed almost youthful, as if she were reliving those same moments in her own life.
After everything ended happily ever after and Bubbie walked off arm-in-arm with her Izzie and Sam, the other older woman on the other side of me remarked to her husband, "That was really cute." I couldn't have said it better myself.
The Sunset Playhouse's address is 800 N. Elm Grove Rd. in Elm Grove. Call (262)-782-4430 for tickets.
