Only three years before he entered the White House, George W. Bush was invented by Neil Simon and played on Broadway by Peter Rini as Vinnie Bavasi, probably named in honor of the long-time general manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Now the long-lost descendant of Mrs. Malaprop has come to St. Louis, played in sparkling, if stereotypical manner by Aaron Orion Baker in "Proposals," a creaky, formulaic play that has some laughs, but also some tedium.
Any Broadway production of a Simon play whose run extends for only 77 performances is a warning that there are problems along the way. The comedy, produced by the St. Louis Actors Studio at the Gaslight Theater, opened the group's 2009-10 season on Friday; it will run through Oct. 18.
On the bright side, the wonderful Whit Reichert delivers perfectly as Burt and cute, dimpled Megan Rodd charms as Josie, his daughter. Choyce Johnson turns in a strong, well-balanced performance as Clemma, the long-time family maid, although for some reason, we're listening to someone who died a few years earlier. Simon's action makes little sense. And, as mentioned, Baker delights as the Miamian who is a Mafioso-in-training.
The difficulties, and there are many, are mostly Simon's, who seems to have relied on his earlier plays and sit-coms for much of the humor, and also, for some reason, decided to wrap all the loose ends in sentimentality and bathos. Few of the characters have histories, and the ones that do are an exercise in trite. The small stage at the Gaslight Theater is barely large enough to handle the cast, and it's a Herculean effort on the part of director Milt Zoth to keep everyone from running into one another.
We're at a house in Pennsylvania's Pocono Mountains in late summer. Burt, the family patriarch, has serious heart problems, and is depressed because his wife left him a few years earlier. Josie, the perky daughter, is engaged to one of the dullest of men, who stepped in when the previous summer's boy friend dropped her for a model who is a prime example of a no-brainer. The former wife decides to fly from Paris for lunch, and both of Josie's boy friends show up, along with Vinnie and the model. Just to balance everything, the maid's husband, who disappeared seven years ago, invites himself to join the happy band.
Good moments early, with lines that reflect the real Neil Simon, but the author apparently lost interest early in the second act – I think it was while the cast is planning a funeral for a bluebird – and the audience is not far behind.
"Proposals, by the St. Louis Actors Theater, at the Gaslight Theater through Oct. 18
–Joe