Plaza Suite

Perhaps, in the serious-minded, off-Loop theatre community there is no more provocative two words than "Neil Simon." You don't do Neil Simon. His plays are worthy pieces of Theatre. They're froth. "High-school kids knock this stuff out of the park."

Several years ago, while I had disengaged from the theater scene and was clawing my way up the corporate ladder, I heard there was a company who was devoting an entire season to Neil Simon. I thought the idea was genius. High-school kids and amateur community theater groups do indeed knock this stuff out of the park. Having been a part of a community theater as a teen, I can tell you that his plays were cash cows that kept more than one group afloat. Audiences love his work.

Which is truly a testament quality, not mediocrity. This summer there is a chance to see one of Simon's most popular plays, Plaza Suite, and the genius of the playwright and of Eclipse Theatre just rolls across the stage. Simon's texts are delicately structured. The dialogue is constructed perfectly so that the audience can laugh and still not miss a syllable. The saying goes, "Death is easy, Comedy is hard." Well writing comedy is harder. His plays are like spun sugar castles. They taste good to the uneducated palate, but to the connoisseur the artistry of the dialogue construction is reason to love Simon. There is no playwright, Shakespeare included, who consistently delivers comic delight.

Eclipse offers an all-star cast in this delightful production of Plaza Suite, running now at the the Victory Gardens Greenhouse through Labor Day. Directed by Steve Scott, this cast includes Ted Hoerl, Nora Fiffer, Nathaniel Swift, Jon Steinhagen, JP Pierson, Cheri Chenoweth, CeCe Klinger, and Frances Wilkerson. Even if you're a theatre snob -- or especially if you're a theatre snob -- you should not miss this production.