Drake Lockwood

Belfry details plight of ‘Father of the Bride’

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By John Lyle Belden

Of all the challenges a man may face, this is one of the most daunting. He must have the strength of Spencer Tracy, with the good humor of Steve Martin, to withstand this ordeal with sanity (and, maybe, bank account) intact. Beware, lest one day you, too, become the “Father of the Bride.”

The 1950s family comedy by Caroline Francke, based (as were the Tracy and Martin films) on the novel by Edward Streeter, is presented by The Belfry Theatre in Noblesville, directed by Barcia Miller Alejos.

Stanley Banks (Dave Hoffman) and Ellie (Debbie Underwood) are parents to teen sons Ben (Gideon Roark) and Tommy (Drake Lockwood), as well as 21-year-old Kay (Lizzie Schultz), who announces her intention to marry 23-year-old Buckley Dunstan (Daniel Alejos). Pops does not take this well at first, but Buckley relates how they want a wedding so small and simple, it’s practically an elopement – Stanley and his pocketbook sigh with relief. But realizing this means no formal ceremony, Kay balks, and confesses her true nuptial desires.

There will be a small wedding ceremony – only a few (hundred) people at most.

The story skips along through the weeks that follow, featuring important preparations including sorting the invitations with the help of Stanley’s secretary (Dana Lesh), and negotiating the reception arrangements with the caterers (scene-stealing Rob Lawson and posh Jericho Franke). Meanwhile the maid Delilah (Kim Schourten O’Mara) tries not to cry at the thought of the ceremony, or to throttle the furniture mover (Robert Fimreite) who is messing up her house during set-up. Ben’s girlfriend Peggy (Grace McKinnies) is just hoping to catch the bouquet. The cast also features Beth Popplewell as the bride’s dressmaker.

Through it all Hoffman has our titular character stoically grin and bear each little crisis and unexpected expense, never fully flustered, at least on the outside. Buckley, on the other hand, isn’t taking it very well, but Alejos manages to play nervous, naïve, and fearful in a way that doesn’t make him a total jerk – we can still see what Kay sees in him. Schultz takes her character on all the twists and turns of this emotional ride with impressive fortitude, and on the big day, stunning beauty. Lockwood is also impressive as the boy caught up in all these grown-up goings-on, striving not to mess up too much.

The whole production of this classic feel-good comedy embraces the wedding theme, with usher Cavan Doyle dressed as a Groomsman to seat audience members, and some era-appropriate love songs nicely sung by Addie McMillan before the show. There are even little cakes for sale in concessions.

(Edit to add:) Kudos to costumer Gail Sanders and the company for the gorgeous bridal dress; the veil was from director Barcia Alejos’s own wedding.

Conveniently staged at a church, Noblesville First United Methodist, 2051 Monument St., “Father of the Bride” has performances Thursday through Sunday, May 2-5. Get info and tickets at thebelfrytheatre.com.

‘Lost’ in Simon’s wartime family drama

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By John Lyle Belden

You see a dozen shows by Neil Simon, you think you’d know what to expect – the farce of Rumors; or goofy relationships of The Odd Couple; or sweet (and a bit bitter) memories of Brighton Beach; or hilarious razor wit of Goodbye Girl.

For those unfamiliar with “Lost in Yonkers,” Simon’s 1990 Pulitzer-winning play presented by Main Street Productions in Westfield, note that many of his comedies’ hallmarks are present, but with a dark edge that is too real to completely laugh away. With the sharp rap of Grandma’s cane, wisecracks cease. The exaggerated aspects of characters come not in caricature but from coping with lifelong trauma.

In 1942 (America’s first full year in World War II) Eddie Kurnitz (Matt McKee) has to settle debts from his wife’s fatal battle with cancer, so takes a traveling job gathering scrap metal for the War effort. Thus he leaves his sons, 15 “and a half” Jay (Drake Lockwood) and 13 “and a half” Arty (Finley Eyers) with his mother in Yonkers (just outside New York City). Grandma Kurnitz (Lisa Warner Lowe), who escaped from Germany years ago to raise Eddie and his siblings in as strict and unsentimental a manner as possible to prepare them for what she sees as an unrelentless cruel world, is unpleased with his plan, but tolerates it at the request of Bella (Becca Bartley), her daughter whose ever-diverting mind stays in a childlike state.

Grandma owns and runs the candy store on the first floor of their building, which ironically becomes hell for the boys who find themselves penalized for every morsel that goes missing, whether it was their doing or not.

Meanwhile, Eddie’s brother Louie (Thom Johnson) shows up, with a wary eye out the window. He’s a bag man for shady characters who now want what he’s secreted in the bag. Gangsters being cool to teen boys, as well as the desire for cash to get his father out of debt and back home, Jay and Arty try to win his favor.

We also meet Aunt Gert (Maggie Meier), who has an unintentionally comical respiratory issue, when Bella gathers the family for what could be a momentous announcement if she can string the thoughts together.

Dark comedy derives a lot of chuckles from situational humor, and Simon serves that well here, but we are more drawn in by the layered drama of a family whose dysfunction runs deep, apt for one of the most stressful eras for any American. There is a method to the matriarch’s cruelty, and grudging admission of benefit, but it’s still difficult to justify. The damage is plain in every one of Grandma’s offspring, but especially Bella, as Bartley gives a brilliantly endearing and heartbreaking performance. Lowe, for her part, delivers both the cold exterior and fire within that keeps Grandma both feared and respected, with fleeting moments of wry German humor that keep us all off-balance. With Uncle Louie, Johnson maintains an air of Cagney-cool with just a touch of paranoia in knowing his gangland adventure ain’t a movie. Lockwood and Eyers keep the youths as smart-alecky and immature as you’d expect, but, as kids do, learning to adapt to their situation.

Jen Otterman directs, with assistance from stage manager Monya Wolf. The comfy but no-frills living-room set is by Ian Marshall-Fisher.

Get “Lost in Yonkers” this Thursday through Sunday, Feb. 14-18, at Basile Wesfield Playhouse, 220 N. Union St., Westfield. For an extra treat, concessions include versions of “Kurnitz Kandies” with proceeds benefiting MSP’s scholarship program. Get tickets and information at WestfieldPlayhouse.org.