‘Alone Together’

Off-Broadstreet Theatre offers a loud comedy that examines the phenomenon of children leaving home and then returning.

By: Stuart Duncan

Doug Kline and Lois Carr in Alone Together at Off-Broadstreet Theatre.

   Alone Together, which has just opened at Off-Broadstreet Theatre in Hopewell for a five-week run, is a loud comedy that examines the phenomenon of children leaving home and then returning. The show nods perceptibly in the direction of television sitcom before settling into a thoughtful domestic howler.
   We are in the Los Angeles home of George and Helene Butler as they pack their youngest of three sons, Keith, off to college. The two have great plans for their long-awaited freedom: George tapes a map of the United States on the wall and pins little white flags to indicate the precise location of each son. Michael is in Cambridge, teaching at M.I.T. Elliott is even more settled; he is married and lives in Dallas. Helene brings out the wine glasses; George throws the rug down in front of the faux fireplace. Both try to remember what foreplay is all about, when the sound that both have heard is Michael, back from Cambridge.
   Poor lad has been working on an insoluble math problem, hasn’t had much success and therefore has quit his teaching job and decided to move back home. He also has taken a bottle of wine and seems ready to stay a long time.
   But wait — there’s more. Son number two shows up, as well. His marriage appears to be coming apart. Seems that Elliott has a romantic streak that extends to women other than his wife. He feels that an apology should be enough; she doesn’t think so. So nothing to do but return to a safe haven — home.
   Playwright Lawrence Roman, who had one big Broadway hit with Under the Yum-Yum Tree, turns to sitcom techniques: He introduces a stunning brunette, whom Keith apparently has met on his way to college and offered his empty room at home. He has assured her his parent won’t mind. Just the thing to get Elliott’s juices flowing; so do Michael’s, a little less blatantly. Mom and Dad sputter a lot, loudly, but clearly ineffectually.
   Then the play darts toward moments of insightful wisdom. Mom says, "Our sons are nothing more than droplets of acid rain," and "When they are young, they’re so cute you want to eat them up — when they grow up you wish you had."
   Mom and Dad get more or less serious. The girl, Janie, claims she is practicing celibacy. Michael and Elliott show signs of packing back up and heading for quieter climes. Keith shows up briefly, but only to see his own dentist. Mom and Dad stop shouting at each other long enough to shout at the kids. Then, just as we were heading for an evening of silliness, we begin to see real solutions to real problems. The laughter, happily, continues.
   A fine cast makes the show work. Director Bob Thick has put the building blocks in place. A pair of veterans — Lois Carr and Doug Kline — play Helene and George, and they are superb. They bounce dialogue off each other like so many Ping-Pong balls, beautifully timing the laughs like precision watches. From both, you will hear the customary defensive arguments when one’s children are concerned. If your own kids have left the nest, you may feel free to laugh a little harder, but when Helene notes, "When the kids grow up, there are no excuses left," your laughter may be tinged with panic.
   The four others in the cast are new to Off-Broadstreet (very unusual) but all are cast impeccably. James Fiorello, who plays Keith, has done considerable work with the Villagers; and Tammy Koehler, as Janie, has been with Actors’ NET and Westwind Rep many times. He is taking accounting at Middlesex County College; she teaches junior and senior math at Toms River High School South. That’s algebra II and trig for those too old to remember.
   Interestingly, the evening ultimately rests with the characters of Elliott and Michael, probably because both are so obnoxiously self-motivated. Even in comedy, conflict can be heated and intense. Here, it is very real, as both are deliciously malevolent, pursuing their own individual interests. David Cramer, as Elliott, has just the right unctuous grin to accompany suave macho moves. Brett Miller (Michael) finds the proper diffidence to suggest a selfish nerd. Both become parental nightmares.
   Thus, a 20-year-old comedy that never got to Broadway and has since commanded small attention will accomplish that most rare of satisfactions: an evening that will let you laugh loudly and at length, and leave you shaking your head with the hope that it never happens to you.
Alone Together plays at Off-Broadstreet Theatre, 5 S. Greenwood Ave., Hopewell, through June 29. Performances: Fri.-Sat. 8 p.m.; Sun. 2:30 p.m. Doors open one hour earlier for dessert and beverages. Tickets cost $22.50-$24. For information, call (609) 466-2766.