Review: LAST OF THE RED HOT LOVERS at Desert Theatreworks

Desert Theatreworks continues their tradition of a Neil Simon comedy every season with Last of the Red Hot Lovers. Written in 1969, it is Simon's nod to the Swinging Sixties, with a nebbish middle aged man making three attempts at having a sexual fling outside of his 22-year marriage. Although firmly set in the Sixties, DTW's production is fast, frisky, and very, very funny!

Barney (Ed Lefkowitz), a long-married owner of a seafood restaurant, doesn't want to miss out on the sexual revolution, but having married his high school sweetheart, he has no experience at seduction. He decides to invite Elaine (Jennifer Stowe), one of his customers from the restaurant, for an afternoon tryst at his mother's apartment. She is fond of cigarettes, scotch, and other women's husbands. She immediately starts to grab Barney, but although he has embraced the concept of an affair, he's not ready to get right into the physicality of it all, so he busies himself by moving to the other side of the room, pouring more scotch, and doing everything he can to keep her at arm's length.

His next target is Bobbi Michele (Phylicia Mason), a high-spirited aspiring actress whom he meets in the park. Her manic energy keeps her bouncing around the same apartment like a pinball, while thoughts of a fling, an audition, and the quality of her life in general pop out with little connection to the situation at hand, or to each other. She finally calms down when she lights a joint, and persuades Barney to join her in smoking it - a relatively novel idea for a man his age in the Sixties.

The third act finds Barney inviting Jeanette (Renee Poignard), his wife's best friend, to join him in his love nest as the result of a pass she made the previous week at a dinner party. By this time, he is past his nervousness and when he tries to get down to business, she spews forth a litany of depression and morality. Each time he makes a pass, she rebuffs it with a harangue about whether the world really has any decent people left.

The structure of Simon's play is fascinating: same man, same apartment, same goal, but three different women and three different attempts. Top marks to Lefkowitz for memorizing one-half of the entire script and delivering it with professional timing. He is never offstage. It took me a moment to get used to his mugging -- his reactions to situations are delivered full-front and very large. However, that settled down for me as each of the characters, as directed by Lance Phillips-Martinez, is larger than life, so his broad style was part of a pattern. By the third act, Poignard matches him mug for mug.

Each of the women was an absolute delight. Stowe's Elaine is a lanky vampire, anxious to add another notch to her Gucci belt. The more scotch she knocks back, the more aggressive she becomes, knowing that Barney's mom will reclaim the apartment at 5 and her chance will be over. Her needs for a cigarette, sex, and another drink are graphically conveyed through her non-stop movement, enhanced by a strong-colored one-piece 60's outfit with a pleated skirt.

Bobbi, the nutcase actress, is a charming kook as brought to life by Mason, one of the valley's busiest - and most loved - actresses. In a bright salmon period dress and a bouffant bob designed by hair stylist Art Healy, her movements reinforce her unconventionality. She somehow slides upside down from the back of the sofa onto the floor, where she introduces Barney to pot. Most guys can relate to the dichotomy that she's adorable to look at, but wow, what a whack job! Mason delivers a fully dimensional character.

Lastly is Poignard's Jeanette. By his third attempted seduction, Lefkowitz has displayed a nice character arc from timidity in the first scene to confidence and a sense of purpose in Act 3. Sadly for him, Jeanette blocks every effort, both physically, and more damningly, verbally with rants about her depression and the virtues of both of their spouses. She matches Lefkowitz's broad style, and the two of them bring the show to a major win at the finish line.

Jim O'Keefe's apartment design is functional and fun, and Phil Murphy's lights are bright, keeping us cheery and allowing us to see every raised eyebrow. Heidi Hapner's costumes for the first two girls are terrific. Jeanette's is less specific to the Sixties, but like Barney, she's not as much a product of that generation. Much of the first act talks about Barney wearing a blue suit and black socks, and try as I might, I could only see his suit A. Brown and his socks as gray. Resident sound designer Miguel Arballo has selected some iconic tunes from the 60's which bring back vivid memories for many of us in the audience.

The major strength of the evening is the smooth, non-stop speed set by director Phillips-Martinez. As the unifying character, Lefkowitz keeps the pace going, and each of the women responds with his speed and energy. Finding out whether Barney scores with any of them will cost you the price of a ticket.

Next up at DTW is The Great American Trailer Park Christmas Musical, a holiday romp with the colorful residents of a Florida mobile home park which is definitely not for the kids. It is already selling so well that the producers have added two extra performances, and are considering one or two more. As a hint, theatre tickets make great Christmas presents.

Last of the Red Hot Lovers plays at the Indio Performing Arts Center through November 19. Tickets and further information are available at DTWorks.org.

Photo by Paul Hayashi

To post a comment, you must register and login.