THEATER REVIEW:
The Falcon Theatre closes its all-comedy season with the West Coast premiere of Garry Marshall’s “Everybody Say ‘Cheese!’”
It’s a bittersweet look at a troubled marriage, uniquely character-driven and unexpectedly serious coming from the man famous for “Happy Days” and “Pretty Woman.” The comedy starts off slow, but patience for the second act leads to big emotional pay-offs and plenty of well-earned belly laughs.
Marshall is a TV and film comedy icon as director and producer of mostly lightweight entertainment.
But looking back over Marshall’s resume as a writer, you discover deeper layers in his work. “The Flamingo Kid” is a great example of his clever way with words, getting laughs to sprout from serious themes.
And the story in “Cheese!” is close to his heart. He started writing it on a Palm Springs hiatus from Hollywood 43 years ago and is still tinkering with it today. Marshall based the original idea on a New York law at the time where a quickie divorce could only be obtained through photographic evidence of adultery.
At times, it recalls the classic Neil Simon comedy “Barefoot in the Park,” which also mixed laughs with tears. Maybe that’s not a coincidence. Marshall wrote an episode of the short-lived TV version in 1970.
The characters in “Barefoot” were newlyweds just embarking on a long marriage. In “Cheese!” the lifelong soul mates are nearing what looks like the end.
Leo (Joe Regalbuto) and Harriet (DeeDee Rescher) have lost the ability to communicate after 30 years of marriage. Leo furiously makes shelves whenever he gets upset, the walls of their lower-class Bronx apartment now lined with dozens of them.
Harriet yearns for something more now that their children have left the nest, and believes a divorce will set her free to find herself.
She comes up with a dodgy scheme where a lawyer (Joel Johnstone) will snap a revealing photo of Leo cheating with buxom hooker Lee Lynn (Roberta Valderrama).
Marshall takes a painfully simple setup and peels back the layers until the situation starts to resonate more profoundly. The laughs in the second act are a welcome relief following the endless setup of a first act that veers dangerously close to tragedy.
Falcon productions are always packed with vintage stars preserved in all their glory from your memory. Regalbuto (“Murphy Brown”) nails the frustration and fear pouring from Leo’s pores. Rescher (“King of Queens”) bases Harriet’s insanity in hard reality. Veteran character actor John Capodice (“Seinfeld”) brings welcome comic relief as Leo’s best friend.
“Cheese!” has some exciting new blood, too. Cyrus Alexander is hilarious in a tiny role as the stuttering son-in-law. Johnstone is memorable as the sketchy attorney terrified of Leo. And Valderrama is pretty spectacular as the dim bulb prostitute. She’s brave and over-the-top, just the spark that this solid but subtle ensemble needs to gel.
Director Steve Zuckerman elicits understated and realistic performances from the entire cast, and the pacing is perfect.
Set designer Keith Mitchell’s immaculately detailed Bronx apartment is an eye-popping snapshot of a musty fifth-floor walk-up circa 1965. Well, if that apartment had more than 52 shelves nailed to the walls, that is.
JAMES PETRILLO is an actor and screenwriter from Los Angeles. JAMES PETRILLO is an actor and screenwriter from Los Angeles.