Theater Reviews : Simon’s ‘I Ought to Be’ Is All That It Should Be

Neil Simon has lately tended to lean toward the more serious aspects of life in his plays. In retrospect, it becomes apparent that the seriousness was frequently there in his earlier work but was often overlooked by directors and actors who were more interested in the big laughs.

Simon’s serious side is very evident in a production of his 1980 play, “I Ought to Be in Pictures,” at Long Beach Playhouse. There are plenty of chuckles here, and a few guffaws, but director Phyllis Gitlin has given the slight play the weight it deserves.

The story, about hack Hollywood screenwriter Herb and a surprise visit from the 19-year-old daughter he hasn’t seen in 16 years, has all the charm, sentiment and entertainment of Simon’s best writing, and the characters have enough depth to give the actors something to chew on. And Gitlin lets them chew to their hearts’ content.

In her casting, she has balanced the production well, and her rhythms from moment to moment have a sense of reality that gives the play an emotional edge it doesn’t always get.

At the core of Ken Rugg’s performance as Herb is a good sense of inner creative despair, along with a rewarding outward discomfort at his failure to produce a script and his inability to commit to a relationship with his once-a-week girlfriend, Steffy.

Linda Van Dine’s abiding good humor as Steffy, as well as the frankness of her character’s need for a solid relationship with Herb, is honest and well-integrated. Both her performance and Rugg’s ring true, but they remain fairly middle of the road inventively.

The central reason for the success of this production is Jeannie Franzblau’s rough-and-tumble Libby. This is a street-smart Libby, brighter and warmer than the role is written. Franzblau gives the kid an intellectual edge on her long-lost father that’s evident from their first rocky encounter, and a will to overcome that makes her rare moments of insecurity even more affecting. Her transparently faked obsession with breaking into the movies has a forthright sense of trickery that is just right for a cunning Brooklyn manipulator.

An interesting and appealing scenic design by Phil Lubman helps a great deal. It looks very much like one of those tiny bungalow flats that out-of-work actors and writers inhabit on Hollywood side streets, and its disarray when Libby first sees it helps to set up not only Herb’s personality, but his lack of focus as well.

* “I Ought to Be in Pictures,” Long Beach Playhouse Mainstage, 5021 E. Anaheim St., Long Beach. Fridays and Saturdays, 8 p.m.; 2 p.m. matinees on Sunday, June 18 and 25, 2 p.m. Ends July 1. $10. (310) 494-1616. Running time: 2 hours, 15 minutes. Jeannie Franzblau: Libby

Ken Rugg: Herb

Linda Van Dine: Steffy

A Long Beach Playhouse production of Neil Simon’s comedy. Directed by Phyllis Gitlin. Scenic design: Phil Lubman. Lighting design: John J. Grant. Sound design: Bob Ashby. Costume design: Donna Fritsche. Stage manager: Barbara Ashby.