Review: The Melville Boys
Theatre East, 1265 Ventura Blvd., Studio City, 818-760-4160
by Jeff Nelson
It has been said that Death is nature’s way of saying “Howdy” and this month sees two plays that explore the surprise and horror experienced by those who are unprepared to die.
The Melville Boys, at Theatre East in Studio City, is a somewhat pedestrian comedy about the lives of two brothers, two sisters, and the terminal disease that threatens to ruin their plans for a mountain cabin. Fortunately, what might have been a maudlin mess is brought engagingly to life by a lucid cast that knows just how long they can wring out the laughs before they sock you in the gut. There are very fine performances all around, and director Stu Berg brings a light touch to the theatrical material. Vince McKewin, as Leo, copes and copes—with his disease, with his superficial younger brother, and with the unexpected surprise of falling in love.
McKewin is perfect as the man who holds it all together, just barely. Paul Wither, as Lee’s shallow and selfish younger brother, plays the role with just a bit too much earnestness. Even so, his over-the-top theatrics had me fighting back tears, dumb and predictable as they were. He’d better be careful, though, as he’s liable to give the impression that he actually believes this stuff.
As for the sisters, Adrienne Hampton plays Mary as a smart and selfless lady of the lake. She is perfectly cast as McKewin’s foil, and gives a wonderful performance that is funny, sad, and hopeful all at once. Rhonda Lee Dorton, as her self-absorbed younger sister, is in full control of her portrait of a dumb blonde who isn’t so dumb after all. Her show-stopping bit as a used-car salesman’s assistant is charming and funny. It’s sexist fluff, but Dorton plays it with knowing authority.
On April 10 and 11, an alternate cast will be performing.♦