Andrew Link
What a treat it is to watch two “seasoned” pros at work.
We’re talking about Larry Sinak and Laurie Helmers, two Rochester stage veterans, who play a couple of seasoned actors in the comedy “Don’t Talk to the Actors,” which opened Friday at the Rochester Repertory Theatre.
The play, by Tom Dudzick, is about Jerry, a young playwright from Buffalo, N.Y. Jerry’s script has been picked up by a Broadway producer. It’s Jerry’s first trip to the big city, and he and his fiance, Arlene, can’t believe their luck as they arrive for rehearsals.
And to make it even more exciting, Arlene’s favorite actor, Curt Logan, has agreed to do the play. Of course, Curt’s got more on his mind than playing the milquetoast character Jerry has written.
The Rep’s production, directed by Mary Bruns Pyfferoen, reaches for all the farcical comedy there is in the script — and then some, thanks to Sinak, as Logan, and Helmers as bawdy actress Beatrice Pomery.
Sinak, who is normally seen in dramatic roles, here pulls out all the stops to create a character who is grounded just enough in reality to be both hilarious and sad.
Helmers also stretches herself, applying a comic twist to her musical-theater talent.
Watching Sinak’s Logan and Helmers’ Beatrice battle it out during rehearsals and rewrites of Jerry’s play is an absolute delight.
“I thought you were dead,” Beatrice says when she meets Logan at the first rehearsal.
“Death is looking pretty good right now,” he answers.
When one of the two isn’t on stage, the play seems more frenetic than focused. There is good, clever dialog in the script, although some of the jokes announce themselves in advance, and others — one character’s complaints about how much things cost in New York, for example — wear out their welcome in a hurry.
Nick Rudlong, a reliable comic actor, portrays Jerry as an awestruck nervous wreck. Rich Mansfield is Mike, the director, who tries to get Jerry’s show off the ground. Christina Stier has fun as the finicky stage manager (who for some reason is written as a British expat), and Rene Stiller makes her Rep debut as Arlene.
Is this really how a Broadway show is made? If so, there’s a lesson here for all aspiring playwrights who dream of Broadway, a Tony and a Pulitzer: Be careful what you wish for.
As for us, we wish for another show with Sinak and Helmers going toe-to-toe.
Tom Weber, Post-Bulletin May 6, 2019