By Robert W. Bethune
There are great advantages to a simple formula, well executed. Boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl in the end. If I had a nickel for every play that uses that formula, I would be a rich man; if I had a dollar for every play that uses that formula really well, I might be a poor man indeed. However, I would definitely have a dollar in my pocket for Kathleen Clark's charming and amusing play, "Southern Comforts," presently on stage at Detroit Repertory Theatre.
One of the aspects of this play that makes it different from so many of the other plays on the same subject is that the boy and girl of this play are not a boy and girl; they are mature adults, veterans of prior marriages, with grown children. They carry the baggage that accumulates in life. Amanda, played in a rich and twangy accent by Dorry Peltyn, has literal baggage to go with it. "No, not a van. A moving van. The semi-trailer type. Maybe two of them." By contrast, Gus Klingman, played with gruff and gentle grouchiness by Council Cargle, has stripped the tangible baggage out of his life, but left all the intangibles intact. "I don't want to talk about it" is his refrain, and the true measure of his growing relationship with Amanda is that he does, finally, talk about it, more than he ever has with anyone.
The design team capitalizes brilliantly on this. Before Amanda, Gus' living room is all but empty — two chairs, a TV, a tiny desk, a tiny liquor cabinet. After Amanda, the room blossoms with chairs, bookcases, curtains, all the comforts of home — and in a telling touch, only one of Gus' two original chairs survive the onslaught of interior-designing femininity.
The dialogue has verve and wit without being self-consciously vivacious and witty, and that also describes the performances. Peltyn and Cargle have the perfect chemistry. You see an immediate attraction between the two characters right away, but it's all below the surface. Then, gradually, the tips of the icebergs emerge and start to melt, and the characters begin to acknowledge their growing feelings — resisting all the way at first. Tensions and problems arise and finally explode, but in the end, Gus absolutely disproves his other refrain: "People don't change." It's a wonderful moment when he does.
Credit must also go to Bruce Millan's direction. You think a two-hander like this is easy? Particularly a two-hander that takes place all in one room? Try it sometime. If you can get simple, economical movement that is always well-motivated and naturally believable, you and Millan have something in common.
I have to say that one of the fun things about Detroit Rep is the lively and responsive audience. (How often do you wind up reviewing the audience?) They laugh, they clap, they say "Awwwww" en masse when something sweet happens; there were even bits of verbal encouragement to the characters. Cargle and Peltyn play that audience beautifully, keeping with them in perfect sync.
(FOR "REVIEW BOX")
MINI-REVIEW:
'Southern Comforts'
Detroit Repertory Theatre, 13103 Woodrow Wilson, Detroit. Thu.-Sun., through May 18. Tickets: $17/advance; $20/at the door. For information: 313-868-1347 or http://www.detroitreptheatre.com.
