Daniel’s Husband
Reviewed by Deborah Klugman
Fountain Theatre
Extended through July 28
Daniel’s Husband, written by Michael McKeever and directed by Simon Levy at the Fountain Theatre, starts out decked with light comedy and glib dialogue but midway takes a sharp turn to become relevant and affecting.
The production features Bill Brochtrup and Tim Cummings as Daniel and Mitchell respectively, two professional men who have been partners for seven years and remain deeply committed and in love. Daniel is an architect whose taste is reflected in their spacious and classy home (a handsome set by DeAnne Millais); Mitchell is a novelist, whose same-sex romance novels make him, in his own words, “the 21st century gay equivalent of Barbara Cartland.”
The loyalty and abiding affection between these two individuals stands in contrast to the promiscuous habits of Mitchell’s best friend and literary agent, Barry (Ed F. Martin), who favors brief liaisons with much younger men and on a particular evening has brought with him a 23-year-old companion, Trip (Jose Fernando), whose youthful enthusiasm and cultural naiveté fuel Mitchell’s nagging disapproval of Barry’s choices.
A casual comment by Trip, who assumes that his hosts are married, introduces the play’s incipient conflict. It turns out they are not; while Daniel would like to be legally wed, Mitchell scoffs at the idea, declaring marriage an outmoded and musty institution and a superfluous rite whether one be gay or straight. He gets very heated about it, while Daniel, conversely, becomes teary and upset.
The other fly in the ointment in these people’s lives is Daniel’s mother, Lydia (Jenny O’Hara), a woman of leisure with four dogs whom she dotes on. Lydia, who lives out-of-state, is due to visit for a week, a prospect Daniel is dreading. Though Lydia likes Mitchell, and he thinks she’s not so bad, Daniel nurtures resentments against her, recalling how she belittled his now dead father, who’d been an aspiring artist.
Much of the first half of this intermission-less work plays out like a tempest in a teapot: We witness the squabbles of a privileged couple with plenty of discretionary income engage in parlor games with their friend and argue about whether or not they should get married. Things do change, however, in ways that reflect the shortsightedness and lack of understanding that many people have of their relative good fortune, and of the ways their lack of insight can sabotage their lives.
All the actors are skilled; however, I could not help but feel that Cummings, who often excels at portraying intense, conflicted people, was a bit pinched in the role of Mitch, a successful and domesticated professional man. At times this actor looms almost too large on the tasteful well-appointed set — yet at the same time it would be unfair to deny the dynamic he brings to the drama, particularly its sweeping catharsis.
The outstanding performance is O’Hara’s perfect rendering of the less-than-transparent Lydia, whose propensity for control emerges all too clearly as the story develops. Veteran performer E.F. Martin brings a similar spot-on authenticity to Mitch’s friend Barry and delivers some finely-honed moments. Fernando’s young dude is presented as exaggeratedly green at the start (this may be from the writing and/or the direction), but these rough edges fade as his character evolves into an intrinsic element of the narrative.
Jennifer Edwards’s lighting complements Millais’s eye-catching interior, while Peter Bayne’s striking sound design reflects the chaos of events gone awry.
Fountain Theatre, 5060 Fountain Ave., East Hollywood; Mon., Fri.- Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m.; extended through Jul. 28. www.fountaintheatre.com. Running time: approximately 95 minutes with no intermission.
