So I left the theater feeling profound empathy for a man who had abandoned his young family 16 years ago, all because his wife–the mother of his two small children– hadn’t been much fun. My misty eyes on behalf of such a man would certainly garner the disapproval of many. Eee gads! What would Laura Schlessinger say?
Then I realized my compassion wasn’t for what this man had done, but rather for what he had lost. That’s better.
In I Ought To Be In Pictures, 19-year-old Libby Tucker (Lisa Cirincione) travels across country to meet the dad (Michael Durack) who exited the scene when she was but a toddler. Posing as a would-be actress who needs Dad’s help to break into the business, Libby even seems to have herself convinced that show biz is her primary motivation. But as the action unfolds, true intentions become blurred and human frailty takes center stage.
With the occasional help of Dad’s oft-neglected girlfriend (Della Lisi), father and daughter go from tense introduction to bona fide affection in a matter of a couple of short weeks. Still, the ride is circuitous and peppered with land mines, but decidedly worth the extra miles and dicey road hazards.
This is a terrific Mainstage production in which Cirincione is as likable as the moon is round. What wonderful chemistry she and Durack achieve.
Playwright Neil Simon may not have executed his best work ever in I Ought To Be In Pictures, but the play does what all of Simon’s plays do. It highlights its characters’ vulnerability. Combined with Simon’s easy and generous comic dialogue, vulnerability is all it takes.
Director Autumn Browne achieves a lively pace that is never rushed, while tender moments get their stewing time.
All three characters are apt to open their hearts like eager therapy junkies, and we are happy to walk right in.
Even so, as a daughter’s hostility melts away, a father’s emotional immobility is the tougher fix. Honesty and pretense trump each other again and again until honesty wins in the end and a father-daughter relationship sprouts like a newly planted seed. The process is not devoid of fallout, as a brand new dad of a young adult discovers the joys and heartaches of parenthood.
At the very least, all three characters are now able to move on–to better places, we hope, because Cirincione and Durack and Lisi have made us care what happens to them.
I Ought To Be In Pictures continues on the Long Beach Playhouse Mainstage through July 28. General admission tickets are $22; $20 for seniors. Student tickets are $12 on Fridays and Saturdays with valid student ID. Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., with Sunday matinees on July 1, 8, 15 and 22 at 2 p.m.
Call (562) 494-1014 for reservations and information. Tickets are also available online at www.lbph.com.
