Linda Vista

B-

Tracy Letts’s 2017 comedy with dark overtones has arrived at Second Stage’s Helen Hayes Theater after a detour from Chicago to LA, with most of its original Steppenwolf cast intact. It’s his most entertaining, most commercial play since August: Osage County, but that is not entirely a compliment. While it has many hilarious and incisive moments, the whole somehow seems less than the sum of its parts. Dick Wheeler (Ian Barford; The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time), 50 years old and almost divorced, is a mess. He is bright, funny, opinionated, bitter and self-defeating. His list of dislikes is endless. Years ago he was a news photographer in Chicago, but he gave it up when he felt he lacked sufficient talent, moved to Southern California to be near his wife’s family and took a job as a camera repairman. When first seen, he is moving into a generic San Diego apartment with the help of his friend Paul (Jim True-Frost; August: Osage County). The beautiful view promised by the apartment’s (and the play’s) title is a stretch; if you crane your neck, you can see a sliver of ocean. Wheeler, as he prefers to be called, has known Paul and his wife Margaret (Sally Murphy; August: Osage County) since college. In fact, he actually dated her before Paul. The two of them conspire to get Wheeler to meet a female friend of theirs, Jules Ish (Cora Vander Broek), who is a life coach with a degree in happiness. They double date for an evening of karaoke, during which Jules sees through his abrasiveness to his underlying vulnerability. They end up in the sack, in what has to be the funniest sex scene I have seen on stage or film. Their budding affair is complicated by a late night knock on the door by Wheeler’s attractive young possibly pregnant neighbor Minnie (Chantal Thuy), whose abusive boyfriend has kicked her out. Wheeler invites her to spend the night on his couch. As they say, complications ensue. Another strand of the plot involves Wheeler's life at work where Anita (Caroline Neff; Airline Highway) the attractive young woman he works with, must daily endure the totally inappropriate behavior of their creepy boss Michael (Troy West; August: Osage County). On the positive side, the dialogue is snappy and the actors are uniformly strong, especially Barford and Vander Broek. Todd Rosenthal’s (August: Osage County) scenic design features a smoothly revolving set under a diorama of San Diego’s waterfront skyline. Laura Bauer’s (Frankie and Johnny in the Claire de Lune) costumes really help define the characters. Dexter Bullard’s (Grace, Bug) direction is seamless. There is much to enjoy—a little too much; several of the scenes could use judicious trimming. The female characters would benefit from sharper definition. When it was all over, I wondered whether this character study of a difficult man really merited almost three hours. Be forewarned that there’s lots of nudity and strong language. I am glad I saw it but wish that there were more point to it. Running time: two hours 45 minutes including intermission.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time ****

Not since “War Horse” have I seen a play whose success owed so much to its production design. What set and costume designer Bunny Christie, video designer Finn Ross and, especially, lighting designer Paule Constable have accomplished is no less than to provide a visual analog of the mind of a 15-year old autistic boy with a talent for mathematics. This is not to denigrate the considerable accomplishments of Simon Stephens in adapting Mark Haddon’s award-winning book, of Marianne Elliott for so skillfully directing the play, and of the superb cast for bringing its characters to vivid life. Alex Sharp is remarkable as Christopher Boone, the boy who gets more than he bargained for when he sets out to discover who killed the neighbor’s dog. Ian Barford is excellent as his loving, but often misguided father. Enid Graham shines as the mother worn down by the difficulties of raising Christopher. Francesca Faridany is convincing as his sympathetic teacher Siobhan who helps him navigate his daily challenges and persuades him to write this story. Her reading of the story aloud serves as the narration that brings us in to the play. Stephens has remained quite faithful to the original text. Dialect coach Ben Furey has made the American cast sound convincingly British. I would not have believed that a book that is primarily based on Christopher’s inner thoughts could be brought so vibrantly to the stage. It is easy to understand how it won the Olivier for Best Play. NOTE: Be sure not to rush out the theater right after the curtain calls or you'll miss a treat. Running time: 2 hours, 20 minutes including intermission.