‘Louie and Ophelia’ Mixes Honesty and Chemistry

“I thought I could step right into a ready-made family,” sighs Louie, a 48-year-old cook contemplating his turbulent romance with Ophelia, an outspoken divorced mother of two. “It isn’t that easy.”

No, it isn’t. And among the many virtues of Gus Edwards’ charming two-character comedy, “Louie and Ophelia,” is the fact that it honors that complexity through its thoughtful insights into contemporary relationships. While serving up plenty of witty dialogue, Edwards’ play never sacrifices emotional honesty for cheap laughs.

Stars Ted Lange and Vanessa Bell Calloway play to the play’s strengths in Adleane Hunter’s agreeable staging, which inaugurates the 161-seat Regency West Dinner Theatre in Leimert Park. Loosely positioned as a kind of black “Love Letters,” the snappy formula could easily lend itself to an ongoing run with rotating celebrity casts.

However, it would be difficult to imagine better chemistry than that displayed between Lange and Calloway, who chart a thoroughly convincing arc from their characters’ first meeting in a bar to their conflicts over how--or if--they can fit their lives together. Though some of their issues talk to the context of an African American couple, both portraits are refreshingly free of caricature, and resonate with the passions and foibles of the human condition.

Best of all, Lange and Calloway bring a dignity to these characters’ struggle that underscores the primary importance of personal integrity and responsibility in every relationship.

Solid values in an entertaining package--and dinner too! Hard to top that menu.

BE THERE

“Louie and Ophelia,” Regency West, 3339 W. 43rd St., Leimert Park. Sundays, 2:30 p.m. (food service at 12:30) and 7 p.m. (food service at 5:30) Ends June 18. $35 including dinner, plus two-drink minimum. (323) 938-8448. Running time: 2 hours, 25 minutes.