McBroom’s ‘Heartbeats’

I find it hard to believe that reviewer Laurie Winer and I were in the same audience at the opening of “Heartbeats” at the Pasadena Playhouse (“Housewife’s Laments Make for a Lamentable ‘Heartbeats,’ ” July 19).

What she thought to be banal, I thought universal. The writing is sharp, witty, insightful and touches to the core of the human condition. Amanda McBroom’s observations on getting older, relationships, worries and life mirrored every person’s concerns of the values in the world today. And, yes, that does include everything from gray hair to drive-by killings.

Winer also missed the point of the contrast between the times of the young Annie and the world now--the purposefulness of the “Let’s Put On a Show” feeling in the staging when showing the innocence of life in her youth.

I take exception to every aspect of Winer’s review. And to call McBroom “chilly”! Where was Winer when the audience I was part of was laughing and crying and having a wonderful evening seeing a meaningful look at a part of life we all must confront?

LYNN TAYLOR, Ojai