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Slezak readily acknowledges the autobiographical elements in his
story—inspired by a walk in Paris' famous Père Lachaise cemetery—making his
grasp of his slapstick prototype as admirable as the unexpected sympathy he
extends his venerable archetypes. The sheer physical manipulation needed to
construct situations involving men dressed in duck suits, missile explosives
concealed in laundry carts and doses of mis-administered
pharmaceuticals...demands more attention than their authors often anticipate.
But Slezak resists the temptation to wallow in his own nostalgic memories,
instead applying himself to the mechanics of his plot-driven exercise. Director
Richard Shavzin and his cast also exhibit the skills necessary to playing this
brand of fast-paced mayhem...scrambling over Richard and Jacqueline Penrod's
art-nouveau-on-a-budget suite...with unflagging energy, agility and enough charm
to make us wish for a happy resolution to their difficulties. Whether Slaphappy
can repeat the success of the glitzier Don't Dress For Dinner remains to be
seen, but in these grim times, its generous optimism and universal hope for
reconciliation should appeal to the same audiences." "Our Best Bet". "Grand mischief... well thought out and beautifully delivered... Neff
truly amazes.: "Whimsical... appeals to all ages... I took heart in the play's
message." "Briskly paced and breezily acted... calls to mind Coward's Private Lives...
a multitude of door slamming farcical high jinks... director Shavzin maintains a
light touch... as staunchly, effortlessly insubstantial as it should be." "Slezak is good at delivering wry, dry one-liners, and the cast...good at
delivering them, especially Judy Blue as a tippling American divorcee and Lucas
Neff as a Parisian bellhop with sidelines in therapy and terrorism." "The constant entrances and exits, the socioeconomic diversity of the cast,
and the nearly imminent potential for fornication make it a setting rich in
comic potential. Set in a lavish Paris Hotel, Slaphappy contains
all the elements, including an ingrained love for pâté
and the most controversial dish this side of veal: foie gras..." "As Noel Coward proved time and again, a successful romantic comedy requires
only three things: lovers clearly meant for each other, enough obstacles to keep
them apart...and a playwright who makes it all look easy...briskly paced and
breezily acted...calls to mind Coward's Private Lives...a multitude of door
slamming farcical high jinks...director Shavzin maintains a light touch...as
staunchly, effortlessly insubstantial as it should be." |
