Grace Neiswander, Lily Weak, Piper Major, Erin Astin, and Lindsey Gentile (Photo by Kelsey Dougherty)
SkyPilot Theatre Company at 905 Cole Theatre
It can be more than a bit daunting to attempt (sort of) to emulate a hugely successful comedic playwright, so it is no wonder that Kelli Bowlden, writer of Honeymoon Suite, has hedged her bets by adding the subtitle With Apologies to Neil Simon. Which, it turns out, was probably a good decision because it helps lower audience expectations. Unfortunately, even with that, Honeymoon Suite falls short of a satisfying theater experience.
That doesn’t mean there are not moments of solid entertainment, surprise and insight in this world premiere of the play, which is presented by SkyPilot Theatre Company. But those moments are few and far between.
Like Simon’s Plaza Suite (both a play and a film) and California Suite (movie only), Honeymoon Suite is made up of three vignettes, all of which take place in, you guessed it, a honeymoon suite at an unnamed hotel.
The first of the couplings is the most interesting. Evy (Stevie Kinchenoe) and Oscar (Jerry Campisi) have eloped, and they have mere hours together before Evy reports for active military duty, meaning the two will be separated for three months. It’s a good set-up, and there is an opportunity for the playwright to ratchet up some underlying tension: Does Evy think her marriage will fall apart because of her long absences? Is Oscar really okay with not being able to see his new bride for long periods of time? And — in an element the writer introduces but never fleshes out — will the marriage last when Evy is college-educated and committed to serving her country, while Oscar has heretofore been mostly a video game player and a weed smoker?
The problem is that there really is no underlying tension because the couple’s mostly generic conversation does little more than vaguely hint at such until almost the end.
In the second scene, Mike (Pete Navis) is with his second wife Katie (Lindsay Shelton) on their wedding night. He is ostensibly drunk — too drunk to consummate the marriage — but, it turns out, he’s not intoxicated, just too nervous to “perform” because of a secret. He’s not sure whether, when he was black-out drunk, he had sex with a stripper at his bachelor party. When he confesses this to Katie, she is surprisingly understanding, which undermines the potential for good old knock-‘em-down, drag-‘em-out conflict. However, the scene ends on a note that is pleasantly surprising.
The final vignette is the weakest of the three. Becca (Whitney Montgomery) has apparently been jilted at the altar by Jeff (Chris Periko). Her bridesmaids — appropriately attired in horrendous gowns (costumes not credited) — descend on their friend to comfort her. The script then notably shifts to the bridesmaids — Gina (Erin Astin), Tess (Lindsey Gentile), and Meg (Grace Neiswander). The stories of these one-dimensional characters are uninteresting. Meanwhile, Becca the bride seems to be doing just fine, and eventually we find out why.
Director Jenna Hoffman does her best with the material, moving the characters around the stage in natural and interesting ways, particularly given that so much of the action takes place on the queen bed center stage. But she and her able cast can do only so much, given the limits of the script.
The set (uncredited) is simple and elegant, complete with rose petal-dotted gauzy material festooned above the stage. The lighting design (Selena Price) is equally simple but effective.
A footnote: Hoffman has all the “offstage” actors in chairs lined up against the walls stage right and left. It’s a conceit that has been done before, but what makes this interesting is that the actors do all the sound cues (such as the buzzing of a mobile phone) and occasionally perform as a Greek chorus, voicing shock or other emotions in response to some of the lines of dialogue.
SkyPilot Theatre Company at 905 Cole Theatre, 905 Cole Ave., Hollywood; Fri.-Sat., 8 pm., Sunday 3 pm; skypilottheatre.com. Running time: One hour and 20 minutes with no intermission.
