[NoHo Arts District, CA] – A NoHo Arts theatre review of Two Roads Theater’s production of Two Roads production of Hughie by esteemed playwright Eugene O’Neill, directed by Bill Sehres and produced by Heidi Appe and Allen Levin.
The Two Roads Theater put on a pretty terrific show called Hughie. The great American playwright who brought dramatic realism to the stage, Eugene O’Neill, was the author of this Tony Award-nominated, one-act play. Hughie is set in the lobby of a small hotel, whose better days are far behind it, on a West Side Street in Mid Town Manhattan. The year is 1928. The Roaring 20s were almost at an end and the Great Depression was right around the corner.
Hughie is two-character play written in 1942, but it wasn’t brought to stage until 1958. Last night myself and the audience experienced this masterwork almost a hundred years after it was set. I mention this only to illustrate that greatness has no expiration date.
A small time hustler enters the hotel in obvious pain and takes a seat in the lobby. The gentleman in question is Erie Smith, played by Dan Frischman with a great command of this long monologue spoken with such affection that everything this character thinks and feels is hiding in plain sight. Erie speaks to Charlie Hughes, the night clerk, a man with not much to do except be the recipient of Erie’s stories, observations, and lamentations of bad luck. Scott MacDonell plays Charlie with such careful focus and interest deep understanding of what Erie is saying, that I found myself often looking at Charlie just to see his reactions.
Special mention has to go to the set designer and scenic designer Katherine Bulovic and Gabriel Ortiz, respectively. The set was very well designed and the attention to detail was impressive. David Svengali, the tech designer, never missed a sound or light cue. But, that is to be expected from the quality of the shows that The Two Roads Theater at present. And finally, I would like to commend the director, Bill Schres, who did such a great job in simplicity and also in the great understanding of the themes and the gorgeous language of this play.
When the show was over, the full house of appreciative audience members did not, “run out powder,” “The cat’s pajamas,” said some of the “frails and queens.” Even the “Bimbos and Bluenoses” thought the play was “Berries.” For me the play was absolutely “Darb.” You’ve got to love the way the language of the time was used, almost as another character.
Tickets:
https://www.onstage411.com/newsite/show/play_info.asp?show_id=7354
Where:
Two Roads Theater
4348 Tujunga Ave, Studio City, CA 91604
When:
March 29— April 20
Friday and Saturday 8PM and Sunday 7PM