Mitch’s Albom’s comic “And the Winner Is,” directed by Gregory Cohen for the Long Beach Playhouse Mainstage Theatre, might seem simplistic in the way it documents one man’s attempts to even the score with God as it pokes fun at errant egos, busted relationships, and Hollywood bluster but you realize that’s because it’s all so ridiculously true.
We’re facing what looks like a the interior of a log cabin bar in northern Wisconsin, except there are no beer taps, cheese logs, or summer sausages. There’s an Irish guy named Seamus (John Gilbert), who seems to be a bartender. At the sound of what appears to be a subway train whose rumble rims the perimeter of the audience area, Seamus looks us and gently smiles, at which time down through a chute clamors man in his boxers, Tyler (Bill Peters). Tyler is an actor, a vain, arrogant, very excited actor. And he’s dead, which is a big bother for Tyler because he was about to attend the Academy Awards ceremony, for which he had been nominated as best actor. In short order follow his agent Teddy (Daryl Mendelson), his girlfriend Serenity (Katie Gallagher), his estranged wife Sheri (Stephanie Schulz), and his fellow actor, Kyle (Cameron Bass-Jackson), who’s also in the hunt for an Oscar but who had also slept with Sheri.
Much of Albom’s funny script shows, one way or another, how Tyler has messed up his life, sacrificing a family life for big screen success, choosing one type of serenity – his blonde chesty girlfriend – over the hearth and kin one his wife offered. Through the appearance of the characters that follow him down the chute into this purgatory, we get insight into Tyler’s various misdirected steps, each of which the story resolves in an hilarious and yet profound way. The story gets progressively more complicated as Tyler gradually realizes that, “Oh yeah, I’m dead” and not only is he dead, his life’s baggage has slid down the chute with him.
There’s a sense of urgency to the production that Cohen effectively parcels out one incident at a time. Tyler thinks the urgency consists of him getting onto the red carpet at Hollywood and Highland in time for the ceremony; but Seamus reminds him it’s about attending to the salvation of his soul. As the caretaker of purgatory Gilbert has this magnificent quality of omnipotence – he’s got a clicker that tases anyone who takes the Lord’s name in vain – while being compassionate enough to earn our respect and, over time, that of Tyler. Peters exhibits a frenetic skittishness that looks a lot like Bob Newhart in a Pilates class. Nicely tucked into the production is the radiant presence of Schulz, whose love for her husband is so profound that you wonder why she ended up down there, until you realize, oops, she had that little fling with Kyle.
Performances are 8 pm, Fri. & Sat, 2 pm, Sun. The show runs until Feb. 13. Tickets are $12-22. The Playhouse is located at 5021 E. Anaheim St. For more info call 494-1014 or visit www.lbph.com.
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