Review: JOHN LOVES MARY at Don Bluth Front Row Theatre

Don Bluth, the master of animation and founder of the eponymously named Front Row Theatre in Scottsdale, has a sophisticated taste for old chestnuts…enough so that each season is guaranteed to include a romantic blast from the past. That’s the spirit that has Norman Krasna’s 1947 play, JOHN LOVES MARY, causing a laugh and a half for audiences relishing a refreshing serving of madcap comedy.

There’s absolutely no need to reference the 1949 movie spinoff featuring Ronald Reagan, Patricia Neal, and Jack Carter when you can hurry on down to DBFRT and catch Diedra Celeste Miranda’s fast-paced, robust, and thoroughly entertaining direction of the show, starring Jacob Shore, Taylor Tunnell, and Matthew R. Harris.

Krasna was a crackerjack playwright and screenwriter, notable for crafting humorous situations replete with one liners, wisecracks, and story twists. JLM has plenty of each as John (Shore) and his Army buddy Fred (Harris) nearly hyperventilate as their plan to foil Mary (Tunnell) and her parents, Senator James McKinley (a perfectly officious Joe Kearns) and Phyllis (Carol Bennett) unravels.

Here's a story that has madcap written all over it. Where normally one good turn deserves another, the twist in JLM is that John’s good turn backfires. Forever thankful to Fred who saved his life (it was a neck wound!) in the thick of WWII, John decides to return the favor by marrying Lily Herbish, Fred’s cockney crush, who could only hope to leave England if she was a G.I. war bride. It will take six months and a trip to Nevada to get a divorce so that Lily and Fred can wed. The problem is that John’s true love, Mary (a charming and vivacious Tunnell) is on pins and needles awaiting the return of her husband-to-be; her folks insist on a wedding sooner rather than later; and it turns out that Fred relinquished his wartime passion for a stateside marriage.

The scheme sets into motion a series of missteps and misunderstandings that come to a head when an ebullient Lily (Alexandra Utpadel) pops in and shares her own sad tale.

Sure, there’s more story and twists to tell, but why cheat the reader of the coming surprises.

The good news is that, in casting the play, Miranda has brought together an ensemble of seasoned (yes, there’s that word again!) thespians whose comic sensibilities thrive in this production. Honorable mentions for solid comic relief go to Tom Endicott as a general who is enlisted to expedite John and Mary’s nuptials and Scott Springer who has likewise been enlisted by John and Fred to reenforce the deception. Both deliver their roles with panache.  

The story line is 1940s-clever and funny enough that it stands the test of time. That it does so is again attributable to Ms. Miranda’s sharp-eyed instinct to keep the pace of the show vibrant and to leverage the comic moments without going too far over the top. Overall, it’s a fun affair. 

JOHN LOVES MARY runs through March 2nd at Don Bluth Front Row Theatre at 8989 E. Via Linda, Ste 118, Scottsdale, AZ ~ https://www.donbluthfrontrowtheatre.com/ ~ 480-314-0841.

Graphic credit to DBFRT

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