Thursday, July 19, 2012

Sunshine Boys

Last night we saw The Sunshine Boys at the Guthrie, directed by St. Olaf's Gary Gisseleman.  It was spectacular!  The house was pretty full for a Wednesday night and the laughter was huge and frequent.

Neil Simon's portrayal of these two old vaudevillians in a story about their relationship makes excellent use of the vaudeville conventions.  Their story includes a steady stream of gentle misunderstanding mixed in with bits from their old routine so that the audience experiences a particular comic perspective on life.  In this well acted production, it was the perfect entertainment in the midst of a hot summer.

As the actors took their bows, there was also a tender moment as the two mature actors who play the entertainers interacted with the young actor who plays the nephew/agent.   Here we glimpsed a doubling in which the relationships portrayed seemed to mirror the relationships among the players.

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