Waiting for Grace

Reviewed by Julio Martinez
Odyssey Theatre
Extended through December 18

Sharon Sharth’s loosely autobiographical play about the seriocomic journey of an attractive middle-aged actress who has chosen career over marriage has been workshopped a bit over the last three years, both in New York and at such local stages as the Skylight Theatre and The Road on Lankershim.

The show has been honed into a humorous and relevant — if overly analytical — take on the life of a 40-something woman, who finally reaches the point where she realizes career is not enough. She also wants to be married and become a mom. 

Sharth’s Grace is determined to find her hubby, and in this she enlists the aid of a couple of therapists (Pamela Dunlap and Lily Knight) and receives plenty of solicited and unsolicited advice from her parents (Dunlap and Bob Telford, subbing for Christopher Pennock).  Along the way, she encounters a number of suitors named Joe (all played by Jeff LeBeau). The relationships are all flawed. As Joe Number One puts it, “I love you but I don’t like you.” Even when she finds David (Todd Babcock), presumably the man of her dreams, her insecurities and her age provide multiple roadblocks on her path to marital bliss.

Grace’s journey is relentlessly one-note, despite a talented ensemble, the seamless pacing furnished by director Leo Costello and designer Pete Hickock’s highly workable set. Her courtship woes are ever-present and exclude any other activity in her life. By the middle of Act 2, the analyzing and re-analyzing of her trials become a bit deadening, despite her amusing malapropisms, the often hilariously understated delivery of Dunlap’s therapist and the comedic yin-and-yang offerings of her parents.  

When Grace finally teams up with David, the dramatic through-line revolves around her middle-aged longing to bear a child. The tone of the play takes a decided turn, and becomes saturated with medical jargon that is not in keeping with the rest of the work. In pure frustration, David utters, “If I really wanted to have children, I would have chosen someone younger than you.”  

What does work to perfection are the mood-enhancing pop offerings of the 60s that sound designer David B. Marling infuses into the sound track.   

Odyssey Theatre Ensemble, 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd, West Los Angeles; Thurs.-Fri., 8 p.m., Sun., 2 p.m.; Extended through Dec. 18. (323) 960-7788. Running Time: two hours with an intermission.