Review: Halley Feiffer Creates A FUNNY THING for Two Opposites Overseeing Their Mothers at a Cancer Treatment Center

For those of us who have lived through the passing of a loved one from cancer, it may seem an impossibility to create humor out of that heartbreaking situation. But the West Coast Premiere of Halley Feiffer's A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Gynecologic Oncology Unit at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center of New York City, she shares the entertaining tale of two adult children, sitting bedside with their mothers, with enough funny one-liners to generate laughs galore.

While their ailing mothers share a hospital room, Karla (Feiffer) and Don (Jason Butler Harner) discover truth in the old cliché that opposites attract...and repel...and attract. Certainly, part of the attraction is being cooped up together for so many hours each day with no one else to talk to about the experience, both current and in their youth, growing up with the mother they are soon to lose to the dreaded disease. Then again, without much privacy other than a plastic curtain between beds, overheard conversations can become confrontational (with such crude language) as well as embarrassing - and incredibly funny.

And although at first the two seem to be polar opposites, with the free-thinking and outspoken Karla tormenting the much-more conservative Don with her constant chattering, as they share their lives and learn to respect their differences, the two inevitably allow their physical attraction to take over, resulting in a very comical encounter in the handicapped accessible in-suite bathroom, interrupted by one of the comatose mothers awakening with her final goodbye. Seems morose, but honestly, even during the most trying of situations the human experience is often humorous in its absurdity.

Harner is especially effective during his heartbreaking, individual conversations with Karla and Marcie as he describes his mother's 7-year long cancer battle as well as his recent split with his wife over his lack of time to spend at home with her and their adopted son. When he shares a letter from his son, in which we learn just how strained their relationship is as well as the fact Don is incredibly well-off financially, Karla softens up to him and manages to listen silently, lending him a much-needed shoulder to cry on. Of course, we soon learn her real attraction to such a polar opposite is that fact he is wealthy and she is a struggling screenwriter who would greatly benefit having someone to support her, or at least have sex with her just the way she wants and needs it.

The two mothers are always laying in their beds, portrayed by JoBeth Williams as Karla's doubleganger personality mother Marcie and Eileen T'Kaye as Don's long-suffering and always sleeping mother Geena. While T-Kaye utters only a line or two, she manages to get some of the best laughs, even in her grave condition. But it is Williams who, along with Feiffer, manages to let us see exactly why her obsessive daughter is the way she is, given their seeming dislike of each other due to their similarities. But of course, what we dislike in others in usually the same thing we dislike about ourselves - yet another comical absurdity of life.

Directed by Trip Cullman to allow for the absurdities of human nature to shine through with humor and frenetic movement during the most difficult of times, Halley Feiffer's A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Gynecologic Oncology Unit at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center of New York City continues through Sunday, October 8 in the Gil Cates Theater at the Geffen Playhouse, 10886 Le Conte Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90024, as the first play of its 2017/2018 season. The production marks Feiffer's first appearance in one of her own plays, and given her skill onstage, hopefully not her last.

I do hope the comedy's title will not keep away those who have been through such trying times, although I do fear that will be the case since watching a loved one deal with cancer is never a pleasant experience. I would encourage you to remember the emotional support you received from others going through the same experience and allow yourself to laugh at the shenanigans Karla and Don share as they learn to turn to each other to make an unbearable situation work out in their favor.

The hospital room set design by Lauren Helpern features a lowered ceiling to create a box-like, almost stifling atmosphere, a common feeling of those trapped in such small spaces while facing such difficult times. Sound designer Darron L. West. Often has us listening to the drone of low-level volume of the constant soap operas so prevalently watched by those stuck in bed. And of course, the constant beeping of hospital equipment is ever-present though not distracting. Matthew Richards lighting design evokes quite a spiritual presence more than once during the most appropriate times.

Tickets priced at $25 - $90. Available in person at the Geffen box office, by phone at 310.208.5454 or online at www.geffenplayhouse.org. Rush tickets for each day's performance are made available to the general public 30 minutes before show time at the box office. $35 General / $10 Student.

The run of A Funny Thing Happened... will feature the Geffen's popular Talk Back Tuesdays, which give theater lovers a chance for a deeper conversation to discuss plot, character themes and other questions directly with the artists in a post-show Q&A from the stage. Dates: September 19 and 26, October 3

Photos by Chris Whitaker

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