Back in the early 1960s, when I was first getting hooked on theater, I saw a hilarious comedy called "Once Over Nightly" at a tiny theater in San Francisco's North Beach area. For its time, it was slightly risque - not unlike a Doris Day/Rock Hudson romp.
I was reminded of that 30-year-old experience on Saturday night in Salt Lake Acting Company's cozy Chapel Theatre, where the whimsical, romantic "Napoleon's China," is premiering.It's about two next-door neighbors in the throes of falling in love.
Director Robin Wilks-Dunn has a terrific cast.
Former Utahn Shaz Bennett, who left Salt Lake a few years ago to stake out a stand-up comedy career in New York City, is making her SLAC debut as Claire Randolph - divorced, slightly kooky and obsessed with creating mosaics out of discarded dinnerware.
One intact cup comes in handy, however, for eavesdropping through the wall on the next door apartment of disgustingly organized history buff Shepard Levy (Dan Larrinaga), who produces a series of television infomercials, "Doomed If You Do and Doomed If You Don't."
Helping move both the show and the reluctant romance along is a sort of "Twilight Zone" touch: an old radio that brings in only one station - WPNK, the "all-Pinky" station featuring the songs and advice of Pinky, a sexy, sultry muse.
Jeanette Puhich is the musical cupid who inspires both Claire and Shep with her repertoire of bluesy, jazzy, even country tunes.
The dialogue is brisk and funny as Claire and Shep confront each other and their various hangups.
Claire is convinced that grout is the only answer to the world's woes . . . something that will mend society's broken pieces.
Shep, who says he suffers from "psychosomatic wellness," sees absolutely no hope for the two of them - even after Claire plies him one morning with cold, leftover Whiskey Casserole for breakfast.
Larrinaga and Bennett are perfectly cast as the reluctant lovers.
Two pivotal props are a soup turreen that once belonged to Napoleon and a small, fragile bowl Shep got from his grandfather.
Do they end up as mosaics?
Maybe . . . maybe not.
Co-authors Sherry Kramer and Ann Haskell have created a thoroughly delightful comedy, neatly propelled by Rebecca Newton's catchy, hummable songs (performed nicely by Puhich and keyboardist Jenny Floor).
Kevin Myhre's scenery and costumes set a contemporary tone for the play: a brightly colored
mosaic-encrusted apartment and funky clothes for Claire and a Wall Street Journal/Brooks Brothers motif for Shep - with a hint of a Manhattan skyline projected on the black curtain at the rear.
Todd A. Mangiapa and Dave Evanoff, handling the lighting and sound, respectively, are right on top of things in a show that has dozens of intricately cued effects.
- Sensitivity rating: Adult humor may be over the heads of smaller children, but there's little here to offend anybody.