Play review

The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Four County Players' spring production "Same Time, Next Year" opened Friday night to a receptive audience in the Barboursville Community Theater.
The play, written by Bernard Slade, tells the story of a couple who meet by chance at a California seaside cottage and spend one weekend together every year for more than 20 years. It is a wonderful, tender, adult comedy about how memories are created and sustained over time. The original Broadway production, starring Ellen Burstyn and Charles Grodin, opened in 1974 and ran for more than three years, earning rave reviews and several Tony awards. It was made into a film starring Burstyn and Alan Alda in 1978.
By staging a 70s-era production, Four County Players offered modern patrons a glimpse into not only the 1970s, but also a further look into the past as those in the 70s would have seen it then. It's an interesting study in the changes of life and society set amid the backdrop of underlying love.
Given Four County's early advisements that the play contained "adult subject matter," we were pleasantly surprised at the humor of the opening scenes. Make no mistake, the subject mater is for mature audiences-the play's about sex, love, sex, life, maturing and, well, sex. But it's not raunchy, rude or crass. Instead it offers us a glimpse into the lives of normal human beings who are otherwise happily married, but enjoy their annual rendezvous. Certainly, sex is a major motivation of their tryst, but that doesn't exactly lend itself to the community theater genre. Instead, we learn about their lives in the months since their last get-together. We learn about their spouses and families, jobs, interests, successes and failures.
Our story opens-not surprisingly--with George (Randy Clark) and Doris (Tricia Belan) in bed. They have that "what have we done?" moment and lay the groundwork for 25 more years of secret dates-always the same time, always the same place. We get to know the characters and their off-stage spouses, as they share details about themselves not just with the audience, but each other.
George is funny in a "trying-to-be-cool" kind of way, while Doris is strong and savvy. They're both charged up with hormones which, in the foundation of this relationship, is enough to keep them coming back.
The second scene occurs five years later and shows us a guilty, insecure George. But Doris won't have any of it since she's in the same boat. He feels terribly guilty, but wants credit for feeling guilty at the same time. There's considerable friction between the lovers in this scene, as the two are still early in their relationship and trying to determine if this annual get-together remains viable.
By scene three-five years later-things have changed. The underlying sexual chemistry between the two is about to take a major hit. George-more or less a walking Viagra advertisement at this point-is in for a rude awakening when Doris arrives.
After the intermission, we pick back with George and Doris in 1965, 15 years after their initial tryst. They've grown apart as Doris is a peace-loving hippie and George is a buttoned-down, angry conservative. This is a tense and touching scene that shows the depths of the characters beyond their bedroom romps.
By the fifth scene, the roles are reversed and Doris is the more vulnerable one, while George wants them to "get in touch" with their feelings.
By the final scene, our "the more things change, the more they stay the same" maxim still holds true.
Belan and Clark do a tremendous job of carrying a show without changing scenery or music. We watch their characters age on stage physically, intellectually and socially. Instead of growing tired of the show's only two performers, we're interested and engaged as to what the next five years will bring. The stages of their lives are universally applicable and most of the audience can relate to similar changes in their own lives, making the characters and their life challenges easy to identify with.
Frank DeAngelis directs the show, while Wendy Novicoff is the producer. Amy Lynn Hart is set designer, Tracie Steger Skipper is lighting designer, and Nancy Rodland designed the costumes.
"Same Time, Next Year" opened May 8 and runs through May 23. Performances are on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. Matinees are Sunday, May 17 and Saturday, May 23 at 2:30 p.m. Tickets are $14 for adults and $12 for senior citizens and students. Tickets to all Friday performances are just $5.
For more information and tickets, call the Four County Players box office at (540) 832-5355 or check the website at www.fourcp.org.