Father-Son Bond at the Heart of Aussie ‘Sum’

David Stevens’ “The Sum of Us” at the Long Beach Playhouse Studio Theatre is a charming comedy from Down Under about an open-minded widower and his gay son. It begins well enough as a funny look at a well-adjusted family of two--both men complaining and sparring good-naturedly. The second act, however, is less fluid and the ending is jarring.

Harry (Tom Moses) isn’t Ward Cleaver, but he’s what every modern parent is supposed to be--warm, accepting and comfortable talking and joking about sex with his son, Jeff (Michael Lightsey) and his son’s lovers. Jeff’s current love interest, Greg (Aric Cushing), finds this cozy father-son bond disturbing. Greg’s still living at home and in the closet. The domesticity of Jeff and Harry’s home life stifles Greg’s erotic inclinations.

Harry is also looking for romance and meets a woman, Joyce (Ros Gentle), through a dating service. Joyce is troubled by Harry’s supportive attitude toward his son’s sexuality.

Director Michael Ambrosio builds an easygoing rhythm, and Moses and Lightsey create a well-nuanced, relaxed relationship that balances love with exasperation. Under Ambrosio’s astute direction, the two lapse easily into confidential asides to the audience, making this stage contrivance seem almost natural.

Stevens’ script is less successful in its characterization of Joyce. Despite the nervous sweetness Gentle brings to the role, it’s severely underwritten. Moreover, the momentum and whimsy of the first act are largely lost in the second, as if Stevens wasn’t sure where to take the two men.

Yet despite the play’s weaknesses, it’s still a pleasure to watch Moses and Lightsey together, spouting colorful Aussie dialect and making a convincing argument for functional father-son relationships.

*

“The Sum of Us,” Long Beach Playhouse, Studio Theatre, 5021 E. Anaheim St., Long Beach. Fridays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sunday, 2 p.m. Ends Aug. 25. $15. (562) 494-1014. Running time: 2 hours.