Strong Performances Bring ‘Suite’ Success

There’s a lot riding on the next few hours for Phil, Larry and Bob. If they can convince a big businessman to ink their contract, it’s blue skies all the way.

That’s the premise in Roger Rueff’s “Hospitality Suite,” which premiered at South Coast Repertory in 1992 to favorable notices.

Now this darkish comedy with shades of David Mamet has settled into the tiny Garden Grove Playhouse, where the Changing Masks Theatre Company delivers a potent staging under Michael Cunningham’s steady direction.

Phil (Howard Patterson), Larry (John Wilkinson) and Bob (Richard Shimomura) work for the same company, selling manufacturing lubricants. The mission, which they’ve taken on with more than the usual enthusiasm, is to hunt down and land a huge account that could set up the firm (and themselves) for years.

Although Rueff’s title suggests a smiley-face pleasantness, the hospitality suite the trio has set up on the 26th floor of Holiday Inn in Wichita, Kan., is really a trap.

Lure the president of the target company in, then make the pitch. Larry is the salesman (the “lips” or “seducer,” as he likes to say), and Phil does marketing. Bob is window-dressing, brought in from the research department to show they’ve got brains as well as charm.

Rueff’s play is about the nature of business in America, where perception can mean more than reality and how that affects people directly involved.

It’s not a great work--Mamet explored many of these issues with edgier (and more scatological) breadth in “Glengarry Glen Ross”--but “Hospitality Suite” is intriguing. And funny, in a way that mixes uneasiness with the laughs.

That’s because Larry and Phil have compromised so much over the years. Larry is completely full of it but still finds a weird beauty in maneuvering a client toward that final sale. When he preaches the gospel, it’s both hilarious and disturbing.

Wilkinson, the standout in a fine ensemble, is invigorating to watch as he marches around Linda Smith’s set of a medium-rent suite, loaded with anonymous, cheap-looking hotel furniture.

Wilkinson’s Larry keeps the blarney going, often too forcefully, and it’s clear he has to convince himself daily that what he’s doing for a living makes sense. It must be hard losing your religion in middle age.

*

Phil, on the other hand, has already lost his. You can almost see it on Patterson’s weary face--if Phil can get through this last push, maybe he can find a new direction. Patterson’s performance nicely balances Phil’s bravado.

That brings us to Bob, who is much younger and more naive. He has religion too, a more conventional kind. When things turn iffy, he resorts to blabbing about Jesus and what he means to him and what he should mean to everybody else.

It’s the only thing Bob isn’t confused about, and Shimomura gives the character equal amounts foolish self-righteousness and appealing honesty.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

* “Hospitality Suite,” Garden Grove Playhouse, 12001 St. Mark St. 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday. $15. Ends June 7. (949) 223-0130. Running time: 2 hours, 15 minutes.

Richard Shimomura: Bob

John Wilkinson: Larry

Howard Patterson: Phil

Curt Webster: The Man

A Changing Masks Theatre Company production of Roger Rueff’s play. Directed by Michael Cunningham. Set and lighting: Linda Smith. Stage manager: Rachael Hart.