Reviewed by Tony Annicone
The Renaissance City Theatre the producing entity at the Granite Theatre’s current show is “The Prisoner of Second Avenue” by Neil Simon. This dark comedy tells the story of Mel, a New York-based advertising executive, whose life takes a dramatic turn when he loses his job. As he attempts to cope with his new unemployment status, he becomes particularly depressed over the fact he must now depend on the income of his wife, Edna, who, out of necessity, has now taken on a job. When his apartment is burglarized and his psychiatrist dies with $23,000 of his money, Mel has a nervous breakdown. As the couple recovers together, the audience witnesses their resilience, and determination to survive. A Jewish family meeting with his brother, Harry and sisters, Pauline, Pearl and Jessie add lightness to the show. Although having a nervous break down is a serious matter, Neil Simon reminds us even in the face of desperation and despair, there can be laughter. Director Jude Pescatello chooses the best cast for this show and blocks it splendidly on the beautiful set built and designed by David Jepson. He keeps the pace of the show in constant motion.
Real life husband and wife, Mark and Diane Foster tackle the roles of Mel and Edna marvelously. Mel, at first is a constant complainer who then shows his gradual descent into a nervous breakdown. Some of Mel’s crazy antics include banging on the wall to quiet two German stewardesses in a neighboring apartment as well as yelling and screaming from his balcony at the garbage in the street and at an upstairs neighbor. His manic scene when he rants and raves into utter dejection is handled excellently. The humor and pathos of these scenes display how Mel’s world has caved in on him, making him a prisoner in his own house. Two hilarious moments occur at the end of Act 1 when Mel has water thrown in his face and at the end of Act 2 with a final American Gothic style pose as he vows to bury his disagreeable neighbor under a pile of snow with his shovel. I first reviewed Mark in “Last of the Red Hot Lovers” back in 2001 and the both of them in “Same Time, Next Year” in 2014 both at this theatre.
Diane shows many layers as Edna. She goes from sympathetic listener to hysterical robbery victim and to breadwinner for the family. Then she goes from that to take care of a person while handling the finances to become a small nervous breakdown victim herself. Diane handles all these transitions playing the role on many different levels while winning laughter along the way.
John Andriso plays Mel’s older brother, Harry adding the lightness and comic touches for the second act. He brings many laughs whether he is arguing with his tightwad sisters or trying to force Mel to accept money to open a summer sports camp while wanting to be the favorite brother for a change. The scenes with the sisters are filled with Neil Simon’s humorous banter. The three sisters are played by Linda Shea as Pauline, the cheapskate who doesn’t want to give Mel the money and wants to know what x means, Katherine Kimmel as Jessie, the one who cries comically constantly and lives in Lakewood, NJ and Judy George as Pearl, the one who mistakenly remembers things from Mel’s childhood and has a sore leg. So for a comic look at a serious subject, be sure to catch “The Prisoner of Second Avenue” by the Renaissance City Theatre at the Granite Theatre in Westerly. It will leave you rolling in the aisles with laughter.
THE PRISONER OF SECOND AVENUE (3 -19 August)
Renaissance City Theatre, Granite Theatre, 1 Granite Street, Westerly, RI
1(401)596-2341 or www.granitetheatre.com
