{"id":86075,"date":"2025-06-12T13:06:49","date_gmt":"2025-06-12T20:06:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/hi-lo\/?p=86075"},"modified":"2025-06-12T13:49:46","modified_gmt":"2025-06-12T20:49:46","slug":"theater-news-international-city-theatres-the-angel-next-door-director-aims-for-joyful-fun","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/hi-lo\/art\/theater-news-international-city-theatres-the-angel-next-door-director-aims-for-joyful-fun","title":{"rendered":"Theater News: International City Theatre\u2019s \u2018The Angel Next Door\u2019 director aims for \u2018joyful fun\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Welcome to Theater News, a regular column by longtime reviewer Anita W. Harris. Look for it most Thursdays. Or\u00a0sign up<\/a>\u00a0for our Eat See Do newsletter to get it in your inbox.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have you ever fallen completely in love with someone only to find out they weren\u2019t quite who you thought they were?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Paul Slade Smith\u2019s comedic play \u201cThe Angel Next Door,\u201d young Oliver Adams has written an entire novel about his love for Broadway actress Margot Bell. But when they meet one weekend, well, he finds her not so angelic after all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Billed as a \u201cscrewball romantic comedy,\u201d the metatheatrical play is set to begin a three-week run this weekend at International City Theatre (ICT).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a comedy that\u2019s in love with theater,\u201d says playwright Smith. \u201cAbout people in love with theater who, in pursuit of a surefire Broadway hit, might have to give reality a rewrite to arrive at a happy ending.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n Link<\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

ICT had staged Smith\u2019s political comedy \u201cThe Outsider\u201d last year to much acclaim, a play showing how the machinations behind political candidates can be hilariously vapid. Smith wrote \u201cThe Angel Next Door\u201d in 2023, inspired by a 1920s comedy by Hungarian writer Ferenc Moln\u00e1r.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the play, Broadway playwriting couple Charlotte (Meeghan Holaway) and Arthur Sanders (Geoffrey Lower) invite young novelist Adams (Armand Akbari) to a Rhode Island mansion for the weekend, where actress Bell (Jessica Fishenfeld) and the vain, \u201cempty-headed\u201d (per ICT) leading man Victor Pratt (Nick Lunetta) are also staying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All of them are exactly the kind of \u201ctheater people\u201d that maid Olga (Sky Palkowitz) disdains. And the mansion\u2019s thin walls do little to disguise Bell\u2019s un-angelic antics, throwing the playwriters\u2019 Broadway dreams for Adams\u2019 story into disarray \u2014 unless they can somehow rewrite reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
From left: Geoffrey Lower, Meeghan Holaway, Sky Palkowitz and Armand Akbari in International City Theatre’s “The Angel Next Door.” Photo by Jordan Gohara.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOnly the power of theater can save the play, the novel and \u2014 perhaps most importantly \u2014 the writer\u2019s heart,\u201d says ICT.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Award-winning director Cate Caplin, who is also a choreographer, took some time out from rehearsals to answer questions about how she\u2019s working to make the show \u201cexuberant and joyful fun\u201d for audiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: How is staging a comedy different from staging other plays? What did you have to consider in terms of pacing and movement?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A: Because of my extensive dance background, I can\u2019t help but be aware of how staging is telling a story and \u201cpainting a picture\u201d without words. There is a whole language of movement and behavior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All comedies are unique \u2014 some are more realistic, some more stylized and broad, some are about word play, some involve pratfalls and \u201cspit takes\u201d [where a character will literally spit food or drink in surprise]. But the rhythm and timing of setups and punchlines are like music, and the goal is to find out how the text, tempo and approach of the specific story we\u2019re telling lands most effectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of the punch lines are \u201ctakes\u201d to the audience, some are \u201casides\u201d almost under the character\u2019s breath. Other times, there\u2019s physical comedy in the specific staging of the moment. It\u2019s a puzzle a director needs to put together piece by piece and see how it all fits and what helps it flow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: How do you get audiences to actually laugh, besides the funniness of the script? <\/b><\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A: Good question! Every audience is unique, and you just never know what’s going to tickle someone’s funny bone, or not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have another comedy running right now but it\u2019s a story that\u2019s laced with emotional, poignant and more serious thought-provoking story elements as well. Some nights audiences are laughing from the get-go and highly vocal from beginning to end, and other nights they are extremely quiet with just gentle laughs sprinkled throughout the play while watching, but they express their enjoyment afterwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The size of the audience also very much affects whether they laugh or not. Sometimes people just need to be \u201cgiven permission\u201d to laugh, and they are figuring out the tone of the play and if they are supposed to find it funny. It\u2019s harder to navigate laughter when there is a mixture of tones within a story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: What\u2019s different or unusual about the comedy in this play?<\/b>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A: Smith\u2019s writing embodies a classic, smart style of quick quips and verbal word play in addition to built-in moments that invite broader, almost cartoon-inspired physicalizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I love this play. When a script is as well written as this one is, it\u2019s all about following my instincts, listening and staying open to the actors’ and other collaborators\u2019 ideas in the room, all while working through the beats of the play. That\u2019s how we discover what feels best and \u201cright\u201d for the play and all of us together as a creative team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I love the process I\u2019ve had putting the play together with my actors and designers. I’m looking forward to seeing how audiences respond. I think they\u2019re going to love it as much as we do!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ICT\u2019s \u201cThe Angel Next Door\u201d will perform at the Beverly O\u2019Neill Theater, 330 E. Seaside Way, from June 13 to 29, with shows Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets range from $44 to $59, with two lower-priced previews on June 11 and 12 and student and senior discounts available. For tickets and information, call the box office at 562-436-4610 or visit <\/i>ICTLongBeach.org<\/i><\/a>. <\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Billed as a \u201cscrewball romantic comedy,\u201d the metatheatrical play is set to begin a three-week run this weekend at International City Theatre.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":207,"featured_media":86076,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","inline_featured_image":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_":"","_author_alias":"","cap-aim":"","cap-description":"","cap-display_name":"","cap-first_name":"","cap-jabber":"","cap-last_name":"","cap-linked_account":"","cap-newspack_employer":"","cap-newspack_job_title":"","cap-newspack_phone_number":"","cap-newspack_role":"","cap-user_email":"","cap-user_login":"","cap-website":"","cap-yahooim":"","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_email_html":"","newspack_email_type":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_hide_page_title":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_show_share_buttons":"","newspack_sponsor_byline_prefix":"","newspack_sponsor_disclaimer_override":"","newspack_sponsor_flag_override":"","newspack_sponsor_only_direct":"","newspack_sponsor_url":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[32310],"class_list":["post-86075","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-art","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86075","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/207"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=86075"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86075\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":86082,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86075\/revisions\/86082"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/86076"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=86075"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=86075"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=86075"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=86075"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=86075"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}