Review: Fountain Hills Theater Presents SAY GOODNIGHT, GRACIE

History! Wit! Romance! Rupert Holmes (The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Curtains) managed to piece these distinctive themes together in SAY GOODNIGHT, GRACIE, his nostalgic and touching homage to the legendary comedy team of Burns and Allen. (It was the longest-running play of the 2002-2003 Broadway Season and garnered a Tony award-nomination for Best Play.)

It is a work of multiple layers and emotions. It calls for an actor with the depth and range to capture the subtle style and mannerisms of George Burns (the straight man of the duo) without falling into the temptation of imitation or hamming it up.

Peter J. Hill, the long-time (30 years!) artistic and technical director of Fountain Hills Theater answers the call with a skillfully crafted and heavenly smooth turn as Burns in the company's Season opener.

The veteran actor and playwright is a master at stagecraft ~ behind the scenes and on the boards. (In the interest of full disclosure: I had the privilege several years ago of playing Inspector Lestrade to Hills's Holmes in Sherlock's Last Case. So, I feel like I can speak with authority about the quality of his artistry ~ with objectivity!)

Hill and his wife, Noël Irick, are an amazing and prolific team. They combine their talents again to mount a one-man one-act production that keeps the audience engaged for a solid eighty-five minutes. He ~ beyond playing the lead ~ designing, building, and painting the set (supported by local volunteers). She ~ a multi-talented actress-singer-dancer-choreographer in her own right ~ producing and directing the show and designing his wardrobe. This is the kind of collaboration that epitomizes good and inviting community theatre.

Back now to the history, wit, and romance elements of the play.

The history lies in the parallel journey of Burns from poverty in New York's Lower East Side (forced to be his family's bread-winner at the age of seven) to stardom with the transitions of popular entertainment from vaudeville to radio to television to cinema. Aided by film footage and radio clips, Burns guides us through the images, textures and sounds of one golden age after another in a century that was tumultuous and life-changing and begged for the relief of laughter. The projections of sight and sound record the humor that comforted a nation ~ Burns and Allen, fixtures at each stage of development ~ and feed the audience with a healthy diet of those laughable gags when Gracie delivers what George calls the illogic of her logic ~ the natural magic of his wife's comedic flair. (There are precious clips as well that capture the kinship and comedic chemistry of Burns and Jack Benny.)

The wit is in the patter of the cigar-holding George Burns, the clever and smooth delivery of one one-liner after another. Hill captures Burns's persona and, with the essence of the character in tow, he navigates the stage like a ship's captain, confidently steering the narrative across the tides of time, engaging the audience as fellow travelers, and delivering us to a pleasant port of call.

The romance is in the love story. Here's where Hill radiates the warmth and devotion that Burns felt for Gracie ~ from love-at-first-sight through thirty-two years of marriage and shared fame. The self-effacement that accompanied his love is embodied in Burns's familiar explanation for his successful show business career: "First, you have to have talent, then you have to marry her, like I did." The theatre goes silent as Burns loses Gracie to heart disease in 1964. Hill holds this moment perfectly.

After a few beats, Hill recovers a Burns in glorious rebound to what he famously called his second act ~ an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in The Sunshine Boys and memorable appearances as the divine one in Oh, God!

As Burns the character reels back in time to recount the episodes of his and Gracie's lives, Hill the actor consummates a rich and multi-layered performance to grateful applause.

That's what you can expect when you enter the intimate setting of Fountain Hills Theater's Mainstage Too! for the company's production of SAY GOODNIGHT, GRACIE: THE LIFE, LAUGHTER AND LOVE OF GEORGE BURNS AND GRACIE ALLEN, running through September 5th.

Photo credit to Patty Torrilhon

Fountain Hills Theater ~ 11445 N Saguaro Boulevard, Fountain Hills, AZ ~ https://fhtaz.org/ ~ 480-837-9661

To post a comment, you must register and login.