‘Two’s A Crowd – theater review

The Island Now

Review by Elyse Trevers

In “Two’s A Crowd,” repressed Wendy Solomon has booked herself a stay at a Las Vegas Hotel, only to find that the hotel has mistakenly double-booked her room. Wendy finds a man in her room when she gets there and demands that he leave. Unfortunately, Vegas is hosting a poker tournament, so there’s nothing else available. The hotel can only offer a folding bed and neither he nor she will leave. What makes this “comedy musical” a bit different is that it is written by comedian Rita Rudner and her husband Martin Bergman (who also directs.) Rudner stars as Wendy and has written herself some very humorous material.

After finding that her husband has been cheating on her with much younger woman, Wendy is at a crossroads, and she is feeling invisible. Her roommate, Tom (Robert Yacko) has been widowed for 18 months and is looking to change his life, hoping that poker will provide an outlet. Tom is a bit rough around the edges. He’s a beer- drinking, poker player and Wendy is prim and proper. She’s even brought her own sheets to use at the hotel and cleans the grout in the bathroom.

At first, they are at odds and snipe at one another. He makes cracks about her age, and she mocks him for being uncouth and unsophisticated. It’s a typical and somewhat predictable romantic comedy. It is apparent early on that eventually the two will be attracted to one another. Instead of his using the easy bed the hotel has provided, they decide to share the double bed. No surprise.

Almost all the lines that Rudner delivers sound like punchlines and they are often quite funny. The problem is that for the majority of the two-hour show, Rudner delivers her dialogue (sometimes even addressing the audience) as if she’s doing standup. She has built in pauses for laughter and what should be natural conversation sounds stilted. However, many of the one-liners are quite funny, especially her comments about age. There’s humor when Wendy gets on the phone to complain. She also seems clueless about computer language and apps. (“Everything’s a silly word nowadays. Google, Yelp. Yahoo. Those used to be things people said when they were having a stroke.”) There’s even a quick aside about politics. (Tom: “And your needs, of course, trump everybody else’s.”
Wendy: “Please don’t say ‘trump.’ )

The four characters all sing original songs by Jason Feddy who accompanies the show on his guitar and sings some solo numbers himself. The music is as entertaining as the dialogue and many of the songs advance the story. Rudner can carry a tune but she’s no Celine (Wendy’s favorite.) One of the most entertaining songs is one sung by Kelly Holden Bashar as the chambermaid. In “Lili’s Lament,” she complains about how slovenly people are in hotels and many in the audience laughed, probably in recognition. Brian Lohmann plays several roles including Gus, Wendy’s cheating husband who shows up trying to win her back. After comparing their marriage to a mutual fund, he sings to her as if he is a rock vocalist with Feddy joining him on stage.

There are no surprises in the show and no intellectual stretch. However, Rudner is charming and cute and Yacko is a good foil for her. The ending is predictable with a small twist (though not really a surprise at all.)

No one should expect “Two’s A Crowd” to have the heft of Chekhov or Mamet. It’s light, comic summer fare. Most came to the 59 E. 59th Theater primarily to see Rita Rudner and enjoy her wit and comedy. They weren’t disappointed.

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