BWW Reviews: Off-Broadway Palm's YOU SAY TOMATO, I SAY SHUT UP Offers Laugh-Out-Loud Comedy

Full credit to director Paul Bernier. He saw something in "You Say Tomato, I Say Shut Up" that I didn't - and then took his cast there, to hilarious effect. Rachael Endrizzi and Adam Clough deliver a charming, laugh-out-loud performance that bids to become the season's first must-see comedy.

"You Say Tomato, I Say Shut Up!" features Jeff and Annabelle, on a date commemorating their 10th wedding anniversary. Annabelle arrives late, yapping into her cell phone. Jeff buys his own gift (an iPad), which Annabelle writes off as a business expense.

The play, based on the real-life relationship of writer/actors Annabelle Gurwitch and Jeff Kahn, uses flashbacks to follow the couple through their first date, cat-sitting, random encounters, late-night phone calls, Napa misadventures, a disastrous marriage proposal, screaming babies and more.

Oh. And Facebook drama. Because what else do couples do in these times? But that's the least of it.

The show played four dates in the Daniels Pavilion at Artis-Naples in February. There, in a large auditorium, touring actors ramped up the energy and pushed hard on every laugh line in a (successful) bid to expand the show into a big space.

Bernier uses the tiny Off-Broadway Palm space to fashion an intimate, friendly show that allows the audience to feel as if we're sharing a date with the actors playing Jeff and Annabelle. Here, facial expressions matter, as do the tiniest changes of voice, tone and inflection.

Endrizzi launches her post-Florida Rep career on a strong note. Jim Conti's adorable cardinal costume and a pert wig make her a ringer for Tina Fey; once the "Sarah Palin shooting a gay moose" jokes start rolling, the city skyline set feels just like SNL! Clough makes Jeff relatable and friendly. Even as the pair argue over a pacifier for Baby Ezra, steaks, wine, relationships and Facebook friend requests, the audience knows that the spats are just excuses for outrageous anecdotes or skits comparing post-baby sex to a minefield.

Please don't ask what "The Lie-Back" is. Ask your married friends. Exactly what you think. Exactly.

Chris Silk is the arts writer and theater critic for the Naples Daily News. To read the longer version of this review, go to: http://www.gonaples.com/news/2013/sep/25/review-broadway-palm-you-say-tomato-i-say-shut-up/.

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