{"id":7202,"date":"2013-09-16T19:51:45","date_gmt":"2013-09-17T02:51:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forallevents.com\/reviews\/?p=7202"},"modified":"2013-10-09T15:48:55","modified_gmt":"2013-10-09T22:48:55","slug":"chapter-two-a-semi-autobiographical-play-by-neil-simon-at-rvp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forallevents.com\/reviews\/chapter-two-a-semi-autobiographical-play-by-neil-simon-at-rvp\/","title":{"rendered":"Chapter Two–A Semi-Autobiographical Play by Neil Simon at RVP"},"content":{"rendered":"

Outstanding\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>[usr=5.0 max=”5″]\n

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\u00a0Kate Fox Marcom as Jennie Malone, Jennifer Reimer as Faye Medwick\u00a0in Chapter Two at Ross Valley Players. \u00a0Photo by Robin Jackson<\/p>\n

\u00a0Chapter Two<\/em> is widely perceived to be an autobiographical revelation of Neil Simon coming to terms with the death of his first wife, followed by his love affair and subsequent marriage to Marsha Mason.\u00a0 This poignant play is based around four brilliantly penned characters\u2014George Schneider (David Shirk), a mourning writer; Jennie Malone (Kate Fox Marcom), a level headed actress; Leo Schneider (Johnny DeBernard), George\u2019s talkative but loving brother; and Faye Medwick (Jennifer Reimer), Jennie\u2019s utterly clueless but enchanting friend.<\/p>\n

George has not \u201cmoved on\u201d from the untimely death of his wife despite Leo\u2019s best efforts to fix him up with other women.\u00a0 Then he meets Jennie who\u2019s just walked out of a terrible marriage to a football player, and in a very short span of time, they\u2019re in love and get married.\u00a0 But George\u2019s memories catch up with him, and he soon finds himself trapped between the past and present, and their relationship starts to crumble.\u00a0 How does George reconcile his past and move forward with Jennie\u2014a sentimental woman with a strong head on her shoulders?\u00a0 Do they give up or can they work things out?<\/p>\n

Although it seems like a heavy subject to deal with, Simon\u2019s wonderful narrative and witty dialog makes Chapter Two <\/em>an immensely likeable play.\u00a0 In George and Jennie, Simon shows both complexity and simplicity.\u00a0 In Leo and Faye, Simon presents two confused, yet adorable characters.<\/p>\n

The play is sensitively directed by James Nelson (who combines Simon\u2019s frequent phone call dialog in order to show the parallel nature of Chapter Two<\/em>) <\/em>He creates an invisible line through the middle of the stage, so each character only exists in half of their former world.\u00a0\u00a0 When the two come together, they form one \u201cwhole.\u201d\u00a0 Nelson also added, in several occurrences of what he calls \u201cmoments alone\u201d\u2014short transitioning scenes where we simply get a glimpse of the two main characters alone in their own space. The time and place is winter\/spring 1977, in the New York apartments of George and Jennie.\u00a0 This remarkable set design is by Eugene deChristopher.<\/p>\n

David Shirk and Kate Fox Marcom work well together digging deep for the panorama of emotions that Simon intended.\u00a0 Jennifer Reimer milks the audience for laughs in a fun, supporting role.\u00a0 Johnny DeBernard is perfectly cast as George\u2019s brother Leo.<\/p>\n

Be sure not to miss Chapter Two<\/em>, the opening play of Ross Valley Players\u2019 2013\/2014 season. Chapter Two<\/em> runs September 13-October 13, 2013. Performances are Thursday at 7:30 p.m.; Friday-Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Barn Theatre, home of the Ross Valley Players\u201430 Sir Francis Drake Blvd., Ross, CA.\u00a0 To order tickets, call 415-456-9555, ext. 1 or visit www.rossvalleyplayers.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Coming up next at Ross Valley Players will be their RAW Festival of four plays with \u201cUnintended Consequences\u201d from October 18-27, 2013. This will be followed by Harvey <\/em>by Mary Chase and directed by Robert Wilson, November 15-December 15, 2013.<\/p>\n

Flora Lynn Isaacson<\/p>\n


\n<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Outstanding\u00a0[usr=5.0 max=”5″] \u00a0Kate Fox Marcom as Jennie Malone, Jennifer Reimer as Faye Medwick\u00a0in Chapter Two at Ross Valley Players. \u00a0Photo by Robin Jackson \u00a0Chapter Two is widely perceived to be…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"yasr_overall_rating":0,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-7202","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-flora-lynn-isaacson"},"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":true,"span_bottom":"