THEATER REVIEW : A Weak Jake Has Trouble Carrying Simon’s ‘Women’

Neil Simon’s “Jake’s Women,” at La Mirada Theatre, is about Jake more than it’s about his women. Most of the women appear only as figures in Jake’s thoughts, speaking the words Jake gives them.

So the actor playing Jake had better be one fascinating guy.

Earlier this year, Alan Alda pulled it off at the Doolittle Theatre. Apart from his built-in identification as a sympathetic character, his bark also conveyed some bite. He commanded attention even as he exasperated.

Nicholas Pryor, a valuable character actor in other contexts, doesn’t have the charisma to carry Scott Rogers’ staging at La Mirada. His voice sounds peevish, not deeply troubled. He’s unable to fill in the spaces between wisecracks.

Much of the first part of the play, in particular, sounds like a catalogue of nattering neuroses. Pryor isn’t completely to blame. In this play, the women as well as Jake do a lot of complaining that isn’t very well grounded in specific details.

But two of the women also get a genuinely heart-tugging scene, when Jake’s recollection of his first wife (Dendrie Taylor), who died young, gets to meet Jake’s summoned-up image of their now nearly grown daughter (Lisa Picotte). And as Jake’s current wife, Lauren Tewes is able to draw a clear distinction between her bubbly younger self, as seen in Jake’s flashbacks, and her older, sadder personality. The script doesn’t permit Jake’s younger self to be so vivid. This further limits Pryor’s ability to deepen his role.

Katherine Hopkins’ beleaguered date and Jane A. Johnston’s tart analyst are funny, but Teri Ralston’s sister isn’t quite as assured.

Joanne Trunick McMaster’s set lacks the original’s hazy margins, which suggested Jake’s mental state, but otherwise suffices.

* “Jake’s Women,” La Mirada Theatre, 14900 La Mirada Blvd., La Mirada. Tuesdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday matinees, 2:30 p.m. $28-$32. (714) 994-6310 or (310) 944-9801. Running time: 2 hours, 15 minutes.