THEATER REVIEW : ‘Red Hot Lovers’ Takes a Nostalgic Romp Without Stirring Up Emotional Murk

“Last of the Red Hot Lovers” is vintage Neil Simon. It skips over the surface of the deep, dark human condition like a shiny stone thrown by a smart-mouthed kid.

The Long Beach Playhouse’s production, directed with love and attention by J.D. Reichelderfer, is as homey and warmhearted as a flip through the family photo album. Simon’s famous punch lines are the affectionately jibing captions to pictures of a fondly remembered past.

The story springs from the mid-life crisis of one Barney Cashman, the owner of a Manhattan fish restaurant. Poor Barney is a man of perpetual propriety who confronts his middle-aged hormonal Angst as any decent man might: He invites a succession of would-be lady lovers to rendezvous with him in his mother’s apartment.

The time is the late 1960s, which is essentially irrelevant to the story, but it seems to have inspired director Reichelderfer with a nostalgia just right for Simon’s mix of psychological truth and sitcom humor. Reichelderfer hits the comedy hard enough to give the characters a splash of humanity, but not so hard as to stir up any emotional murk that might dim the laughter.

Particularly winning is Mitchell Nunn as Barney, a deliciously unlikely Casanova with a roly-poly gait and enough Aqua Velva to kill not only the smell of fish, but the fish themselves. He’s definitely a guy who would try to seduce a woman in his mother’s apartment. Such is his desperation and his hopeless practicality. And such is Nunn’s charm and sincerity that the audience was inspired to cheer his growing confidence and ripening romantic suavity.

The ladies are a stimulating assortment, led by Cassie Vance’s performance as Bobbi, an overripe flower child with the emotional stability of a small boat in a big hurricane. Vance capitalizes on Valley-speak and on her large eyes, which seem capable of calisthenics, to create a memorable California space chick.

Linda Van Dine takes a direct route to the crusty, cigarette-craving Elaine, which bypasses all soft spots. And as Jeanette, whose happiness quotient is a discouraging 8.2% out of a possible 100, Mary Tuck is a gentle foil for Barney’s increasingly aggressive pursuit of happiness.

The accents and rhythms are nicely New York, as is the well-appointed set designed and lit with style by Steven Jay Warner. The soft glow of light through the apartment’s attractive glass brick entryway is a fine metaphorical image for this warmhearted production.

* “Last of the Red Hot Lovers,” Long Beach Playhouse, 5021 E. Anaheim St., Long Beach. Fridays and Saturdays, 8 p.m. Sunday matinees, 2 p.m., May 30 and June 6 only. Ends June 26. $10. (310) 494-1616. Running time: 2 hours, 10 minutes.

Mitchell Nunn Barney Cashman

Linda Van Dine Elaine Navazio

Cassie Vance Bobbi Michele

Mary Tuck Jeanette Fisher

A Long Beach Playhouse production. Written by Neil Simon. Directed by J.D. Reichelderfer. Set and Lights: Steven Jay Warner.