When It Comes To Women
By Joseph Feinstein
The wonderful team of producer Judy Arnold, writer Bruce Goldsmith, and director Asaad Kelada have collaborated once again to produce the play When It comes To Women, currently playing at the Odyssey Theatre The play stars David Shatraw as the lead, Michael Gregory, and follows his single and married life through a period of twenty-three years. Jenny Eakes and Christina Haag, two very lovely ladies, combine their talents to become seven different women in Michael's life. F. William Parker, in some of the strongest scenes within the play, is his complicated father, and Millie Slavin attempts to be the understanding, patient mother we all wish we had.
The problem with this piece is that the writer simply bit off much more than we can chew. We are given many clues to Michael's behavior - his unilateral decision-making which alienates several of his lady friends and his wife; his lack of commitment, even while protesting his deep love to one or more of his paramours; his inability to obtain wealth even though this is one of his greatest desires; the deep love and affection he feels for his parents and their repeated denials to all his requests of financial help. Simply: things don't jibe.
Michael becomes wealthy and we're never told how; Michael lands his trophy wife, yet treats her shabbily; his unilateral decisions are usually wrong yet he comes out of all of them beautifully, again, in ways never reported.
What this play has are some very poignant scenes with actors who know how to act. Our two ladies exude sex appeal and intelligence in creating their seven different characters. Father Marshall is drawn as the wilful, self-made, somewhat selfish yet attentive parent whose concern for his son is real yet leaves him unbending. All the scenes between father and son are remarkably fluid, plausible, and hold our attention beautifully.
There are some clever bon mots from Mr. Goldsmith's pen: Observing that Michael has been tossing paper planes on the floor, his wife remarks, "I can see from your air force that you are hurting!" Criticizing Michael for his lack of commitment, his girlfriend Cathy remarks: "Move in or marry me - you need to find love, imagination, and courage! Things you don't seem to know!" When Michael's wife loses patience with him, she tells him: "Maybe your parents were right! You are defective!"
When It comes To Women attempts to cover too much ground in the spare two hours allotted: familial love, heterosexual love, a single man's take on the life he's living and wants to live, and all of his problems, large and small. Goldsmith takes on a lot. The changes in Michael over twenty-three years are many and complex. We struggle to understand his motivations and decisions. As a result, we walk away mostly frustrated and confused. A tightened script would help immeasurably in making this a play worthy of Broadway.
When It Comes To Women Odyssey Theatre 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles
Thurs. - Sat. @ 8:00; Sun. @ 3:00 Tel. 310-477-2055 $25
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