`THE GINGERBREAD LADY' FILLED WITH HAPPINESS AND SORROW : THE FACTS.Byline: Victoria Giraud Just as gingerbread gingerbread In architecture and design, elaborately detailed embellishment, either lavish or superfluous. Though the term is occasionally applied to such highly detailed and decorative styles as the Rococo, it usually refers to the hand-carved and -sawn wood ornamentation of is sweet but spicy, so is ``The Gingerbread Lady,'' a Neil Simon Noun 1. Neil Simon - United States playwright noted for light comedies (born in 1927) Marvin Neil Simon, Simon play offered by Comedy Tonight Productions ending Saturday at the Arts Council center. With a small but terrific cast, this poignant and timeless play will make you laugh and cry. Nightclub singer and single mother Evy Meara (the versatile Rebecca Hanes, who pulls up emotions from her gut), has just returned to her apartment from a 10-week rehabilitation program aimed at conquering her alcohol addiction. Now comes the tougher part - she has to face her shortcomings A shortcoming is a character flaw. Shortcomings may also be:
Evy's support system is an unusual one. Her best friends are Jimmy (a very appealing Ron Rosen), an insecure, unemployed and homosexual theater actor and the neurotic Toby (sympathetically rendered by Judy Weaver), who clings to her physical beauty as a lifeline to protect her from the ups and downs ups and downs pl.n. Alternating periods of good and bad fortune or spirits. ups and downs Noun, pl alternating periods of good and bad luck or high and low spirits of life. One of Evy's biggest challenges is to keep her shallow, selfish former boyfriend Lou (the engaging Mark Sawyer), from entering her life again. He had left her for a much younger woman and has found that he misses Evy's sarcastic humor and quick intelligence. Perhaps her best hope for the future comes from her daughter, Polly (the luminescent lu·mi·nes·cent adj. Capable of, suitable for, or exhibiting luminescence. [Latin l  men, l , 17-year-old Allyson Dreyfuss, who gives a particularly
sensitive performance). Polly wants to establish a relationship and
successfully uses all her persuasive powers to overcome Evy's
emotional fears of being an incompetent mother and moves in with her.
Evy's tenuous hold on sobriety comes apart when her best friends can't handle their own crises. Jimmy loses a coveted cov·et v. cov·et·ed, cov·et·ing, cov·ets v.tr. 1. To feel blameworthy desire for (that which is another's). See Synonyms at envy. 2. To wish for longingly. See Synonyms at desire. part in a play and is devastated dev·as·tate tr.v. dev·as·tat·ed, dev·as·tat·ing, dev·as·tates 1. To lay waste; destroy. 2. To overwhelm; confound; stun: was devastated by the rude remark. . Toby finds that her perfect looks are not keeping her marriage together, and her husband is planning to leave her. Although sensitive Evy is nearly overwhelmed, the play ends on an upbeat note. Mention must be made of the comic vignette at the play's beginning with the likable Marlon Lannini playing Manuel, the delivery boy. The pitfalls and pain of addiction are addressed seriously but enlightened with Simon's witty lines. This is an older play of Simon's, written in the 1970s, but it has been skillfully updated and expertly directed by Don Pearlman. A wonderful touch during the play was the playing of the tape recorded ``Someone to Watch Over Me Someone to Watch over Me may refer to: In television:
WHAT: ``The Gingerbread Lady'' by Neil Simon WHEN:Tonight and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. WHERE: The Arts Council Center, 482 Greenmeadow Dr., Thousand Oaks COST: $12 Adults, $10 children and seniors INFORMATION: (805) 389-3193 |
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