On Theater: Conflict and collaboration created a film noir classic
After seeing “Moonlight & Magnolias” at the Laguna Playhouse a while back, you probably left the theater hoping to revisit “Gone With the Wind.” You’ll experience a similar craving when you catch “Billy & Ray” at the same theater, only this time you’ll be obsessed with “Double Indemnity.”
“Billy” and “Ray” were Billy Wilder and Raymond Chandler, who combined not only to write the script for the classic noir drama, but also to lure Barbara Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray and Edward G. Robinson into the leading roles. But getting to that peak of perfection involved ascending a slippery slope.
Playwright Mike Bencivenga garnered various anecdotes concerning the collaboration of the high-octane director and the low-key mystery writer in 1943 and 1944. There was no love lost regarding work habits, personal preferences or pretty much anything else, according to Bencivenga’s script, directed at Laguna with a crackling, “Odd Couple”-like flourish by Michael Matthews.
The linchpin of the Laguna production is Blake Ellis as the mercurial Wilder, commanding the stage like James Cagney in a future Wilder movie, “One, Two, Three.” Ellis delivers a credible Austrian accent and a brilliantly self-assured attitude as he strives to turn James M. Cain’s “piece of crap” novel into a lasting Hollywood legend.
His polar opposite is Chandler, creator of the Philip Marlowe novels and a recovering alcoholic who takes secret nips from a bottle in his briefcase. Nick Searcy establishes the older, troubled scribe with an almost pitiable believability in a solid interpretation.
The dialogue between them is acidic and taunting, but one particular exchange will be memorable for movie buffs. It comes when Chandler suggests that MacMurray’s character be killed off early and narrate the movie from the grave. “Ridiculous,” snaps Wilder, unaware that a half-dozen years later he’d be doing exactly that with “Sunset Blvd.”
While “Billy & Ray” essentially is a two-character show, it’s bolstered neatly by a producer and a secretary who fuel the artistic conflagration. Scott Lowell excels as the anxious exec while Joanna Strapp lends credence as an able assistant.
The production office setting, designed by Stephen Gifford, works well for the show — when first seen, it’s a collage of clutter. E.B. Brooks has created some credible period costumes, while Luke Moyer and Juan Sanson provide fitting lighting and sound effects. You’ll probably recognize the “Double Indemnity” movie theme shortly before the first-act curtain.
Fans of the film noir genre from the late ‘40s and early ‘50s will especially enjoy “Billy & Ray,” as it’s an inside look at a pair of creative geniuses airing their artistic differences. It’s a tasty, nostalgic morsel at the Laguna Playhouse.
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IF YOU GO
What: “Billy & Ray”
When: Through Oct. 30; 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturdays and 1 p.m. Sundays
Where: Laguna Playhouse, 606 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach
Cost: $55 to $65
Information: (949) 497-2787 or lagunaplayhouse.com.
