Daniel's Husband

C+

It would be easy to dismiss Michael McKeever’s (Clark Gable Slept Here) play as the theatrical equivalent of a gay Lifetime movie, but it was sufficiently well-received during its recent run at Primary Stages that it has been brought back for an encore run at the Westside Theatre. Architect Daniel (Ryan Spahn; Summer and Smoke, Gloria) and gay pulp fiction author Mitchell (Matthew Montelongo; A View from the Bridge, The Ritz) are entertaining Mitchell’s older literary agent Barry (Lou Liberatore; Burn This, As Is) and his latest boy-toy Trip (Leland Wheeler), a home health care aide. Over after-dinner drinks, Trip innocently asks why Daniel and Mitchell, who have been together seven years, have not married. His question sets off a vehement tirade by Mitchell against marriage, gay assimilation and conformity. Daniel would like to marry, but Mitchell is adamant and their disagreement is a sore spot in their otherwise harmonious relationship. Another source of unease is the impending arrival of Daniel’s overbearing mother Lydia (Anna Holbrook; Raising Jo), whose visits are a cross for Daniel to bear. When catastrophe strikes, Mitchell has to pay a high price for his choices. Montelongo makes the most of this climactic moment. Brian Prather’s (Freud’s Last Session) midcentury modern living room set befits an architect. Gregory Gale’s (Rock of Ages) costumes suit their characters well. Joe Brancato’s (The Life & Blues of Bessie Smith) direction is unobtrusive. While this cautionary tale is both manipulative and predictable, it is elevated by good actors who make the characters and relationships convincing and by high production values. Running time: 95 minutes, no intermission.

Small World

B+

This two-hander at 59E59 Theaters had a successful run at Penguin Rep Theatre in Stony Point two years ago. In it, playwright Frederick Stroppel presents three encounters between composer Igor Stravinsky and animator Walt Disney. The first, in 1939, actually took place when Disney invited Stravinsky to see a rough cut of the “Rite of Spring” section of “Fantasia.” Stravinsky is horrified at Disney’s turning his evocation of pagan Russia into a story about dinosaurs and volcanoes. Nor is he pleased that the film includes a shot of Stokowski, his enemy. The two men argue their respective views of the proper role of the artist in society. The playwright imagines that they meet again two years later. After the lukewarm reception to “Fantasia” Disney has lost his self-confidence and Stravinsky has gone Hollywood. He unsuccessfully pitches Disney the idea for a film, which turns out to be the germ of his opera “The Rake’s Progress.” The two meet for a final time in the afterworld, where their differences seem less important. The dialogue is witty and does not condescend to the audience.  The views of both men get their due. Stephen D’Ambrose (August: Osage County) is marvelous as Stravinsky and Mark Shanahan (The 39 Steps) makes a fine Disney. Patricia E. Doherty’s (Southern Comfort) period costumes are a delight and the set by James J. Fenton (Southern Comfort) is elegant. Joe Brancato’s (Daniel’s Husband) direction is fluid. My only quibble is about the length. At 75 minutes without intermission, it seems either too short or too long. Some of the ideas are merely mentioned rather than developed. On the other hand, it occasionally seems a bit stretched out, particularly in the middle scene. I think it would be even better as a one-hour play on a double-bill. As it happens, this is the second comedy of ideas I saw this week in which famous figures argue their philosophies in the afterworld. The contrast is striking. This play manages to avoid all the pitfalls that the other (The Gospel According to Thomas Jefferson, Charles Dickens, and Count Leo Tolstoy: Discord) falls into. Ends on October 7.

Drop Dead Perfect **

Last year’s sold-out production of this camp melodrama by Erasmus Fenn (a pseudonym) was a Critic’s Pick by both the Times and Time Out. That information plus the prospect of seeing Everett Quinton of Ridiculous Theatrical Company fame again raised my expectations high for the current revival at Theatre at St. Clements. Too high, it turns out. While this overwrought tale of Idris Seabright (Quinton), a wealthy woman in the Florida Keys has its madcap moments, they are too few and far between.

While Quentin gets to wear a parade of knockout 50’s outfits, he doesn’t get enough opportunity to really show off his plummy acting chops. Jason Edward Cook is delightful as Idris’s ward Vivien who yearns to leave the Keys to find her way as an artist in Greenwich Village. (It wasn’t until I read my program afterwards that I realized Vivien was played by a man.) Timothy C. Goodwin is solid in the dual roles of narrator and Idris’s pill-pushing attorney who has his eye on Vivien. The sudden arrival from Cuba of the studly Ricardo (Jason Cruz) sets the overly complicated plot in motion. Ricardo is the son of Idris’s sister Lucy and Ricardo Sr. (Lucy and Ricky, get it?), who ditched Idris for her sister.

Cruz gets a non-frontal nude moment and a shirtless scene with ludicrously stuffed boxer shorts. The interior of a cozy Florida cottage of the 50’s is captured well in James J. Fenton’s attractive set. Charlotte Palmer-Lane’s period costumes are a hoot. William Neal’s sound design cleverly incorporates portentous clips from 50’s movies. Joe Brancato directed. It’s all very silly, but not quite silly enough. Running time: 85 minutes, no intermission.