‘Holiday’ Rests on Strength of the Script

“Holiday,” Philip Barry’s 1928 examination of the false face of high society and the burgeoning self-examination of that era’s young people, is as relevant today as it was then. The feudal hierarchy of big business, and the desire of young people to live real lives in spite of it, is still with us.

The play is as much a classic as Barry’s “The Philadelphia Story.” That it isn’t produced as often today is a mistake that should be corrected.

Santa Ana College makes an effort to do so in its revival at the school’s Phillips Hall Theatre. The popular, greatly rewritten film made a decade after the play’s premiere--an almost forgotten 1930 film version is just as impressive--still turns up on cable, and fortunately, through this weekend, the original play is too.

Johnny Case, a young lawyer who has worked his way up from nothing, has invested in a common stock with promise. Celebrating, he vacations at Lake Placid and meets the daughter of uptight power-lord Edward Seton. Think Bill Gates, or pick any other modern mogul.

Johnny and Julia Seton fall in love and plan to marry as soon as possible. But her father has other ideas, including a calculated plan for their honeymoon, once he sees Johnny’s possibilities, and devises a timetable for his rise to success. Johnny also has ideas about making a bundle, then dropping out and taking a stab at finding himself.

Johnny’s pre-hippie plan appeals to Seton’s other daughter, Linda, who is as much a rebel as Johnny and equally disenchanted with her family’s vision of life and happiness. It would seem inescapable that Linda should wind up with Johnny, but Barry’s finely honed playwriting keeps you guessing up to the last minute.

Director John DeMita knows the style of the play, and the ups and downs of its roller-coaster development--from the staid sitting-room of the Seton mansion to the cozy children’s playroom where the Seton brats spent their youth--and keeps the rhythms electric and exciting. He also knows when to put on the brakes, and give the bitterness and discomfort of the Setons full rein.

There are also the period-perfect settings by D. Silvio Volonte and the marvelous ‘20s costumes by Wilma Mickler-Sears to help create the mood with understated elegance and charm.

Characters’ Meaning Lost

What DeMita hasn’t been able to do is give some of his actors the sense of style that Barry’s writing demands. Sometimes they speak their lines leaving the listener wishing DeMita had told them what the characters really meant.

The style is a bit beyond both Melisa Halfmann as the uptight sister, Julia, and Joshua Jones as Johnny, although both edge closer to it in the last two acts. Tom Adams, as the crusty patriarch Edward Seton, misses it completely, with a one-note reading that only glowers and grunts.

The joy of this production is the performance of Valerie Lyn Manlongat as Linda, the role made memorable by Katharine Hepburn in the 1938 film.

Manlongat understands every word and says them with spirit and a wise intent. She’s not only a charmer, but also finds the pathos and heartbreak in Linda’s realistic decision to leave the family tomb.

Steven Daff is also excellent as the young Seton son Ned, caught in the family web, like an unwary fly, and lost to alcoholism because of it. Daff sees the humor in Ned’s attitude, and plays it honestly and with a twinge of irony.

Jane Yee and Frank Kouri are delightful as the only rich friends of Linda’s who agree with her views on money, and Jo Bond and Norman Vadnais account themselves well as Seton minor relatives who are as caught in the trap as Julia and Ned.

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* “Holiday,” Phillips Hall Theatre, Santa Ana College, 1530 W. 17th St., Santa Ana. 8 p.m. today-Saturday, 2:30 p.m. Sunday, $8. Ends Sunday. (714) 564-5661. Running time: 2 hours, 20 minutes.

Valerie Lyn Manlongat: Linda Seton

Joshua Jones: Johnny Case

Melisa Halfmann: Julia Seton

Steven Daff: Ned Seton

Tom Adams: Edward Seton

Jane Yee: Susan Potter

Frank Kouri: Nick Potter

Jo Bond: Laura Cram

Norman Vadnais: Seton Cram

A Santa Ana College and Santiago Canyon College production of Philip Barry’s comedy-drama. Directed by John DeMita. Scenic design: D. Silvio Volonte. Lighting design: Doc Ballard. Costume design: Wilma Mickler-Sears. Sound design:Justus Matthews. Make-up design: Barbara Matthews.