It’s an often overlooked fact that playwright Philip Barry
(best known for “The Philadelphia Story”) was a Rochester native. But this
weekend and next, Screen Plays — a local group that specializes in stage
versions of Hollywood’s Golden Age films — brings to life one of Barry’s more
popular works, “Holiday.”
The plot
follows Johnny Case, a corporate lawyer who has fallen in love with socialite
Julia Seton during a holiday trip in Lake Placid and proposed to her after just
10 days. The pair returns to Manhattan before New Year’s Eve 1928 to tell
Julia’s father, and Johnny soon realizes the extent of his fiancée’s wealth and
social status. As the story unfolds, the young lovers learn more about one
another through the lens of family relationships and material possessions.
Barry was
known for works that featured a character who wanted a life outside the norm;
his plays are full of wanderers, idealists, and bon vivant types — influenced,
no doubt, by the year he spent in France among artists like F. Scott and Zelda
Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, and Cole Porter. Barry also wrote many splendid
roles for women, and his friend Katharine Hepburn portrayed leads in the film
adaptations of both “The Philadelphia Story” and “Holiday” (opposite Jimmy Stewart
and Cary Grant, respectively).
Screen Plays’
shows, which are produced by Karen Tuccio, draw from a wide level of talent and
skill within the community theater circles in town, but “Holiday” is perhaps
the strongest ensemble they’ve assembled yet. Director Jean Gordon Ryon (Geva’s
resident dramaturg by day) provides thoughtful, contextual direction, guiding
the actors through Jazz Age slang and witty repartee so familiar to high
society circles in the 1920’s.
A host of
young actors lead the 12-person cast. Sammi Cohen (as Julia Seton) and Sean
Michael Smith (Johnny Case) open the show as the young lovers, reuniting in
Manhattan after their holiday trip. It’s a syrupy first scene that demands the
audience assume a certain level of precluded romance, but Cohen and Smith pull
it off admirably, and they both settle strongly into their individual roles as
the show progresses. Marcy J. Savastano (Linda Seton) plays Julia’s
free-spirited younger sister, and Tyler Lucero (Ned Seton) is the alcoholic
younger brother. True to real life, the three siblings couldn’t be more
different in personality — but all share the same family skeletons. Lucero’s
character demands an air of drunken wisdom throughout much of the show, and he
delivers splendidly. Savastano is a starlet — she has Hepburn’s role — and
though her mannerisms belie her as the “younger sister” to Cohen’s Julia, she
has the wit and stage presence to capture the audience throughout the
two-and-a-half-hour show. Bill Alden (Edward Seton), who plays the father of
the three, portrays a frighteningly stern character and masters a believable
dynamic with each of his adult children.
Kevin Sean
Sweeney (Nick) and Nancy K. Fancher (Susan) lighten the show considerably as
the gallivanting, fun loving Potters. With the duo’s sweet onstage chemistry,
unexpected dance routines and strong characterization, each scene that featured
them was a treat. The cast is rounded out by several more supporting roles —
the maid and butlers who perform each set change in character make the most of
their stage time — each one contributing to the strong ensemble. The music
throughout the show is also worth a mention: the program notes original
recordings from the personal collection of Peter J. Doyle, and the selections
set the mood beautifully, from interlude to underscore. The costume design by
Shelly Stam, likewise, hearkens back to the days of flapper-inspired bob
haircuts, elaborate New Year’s Eve frocks, and smoking jackets.
It’s
refreshing to see Screen Plays pay homage to not only a son of Rochester, but
also a gifted, influential playwright. Overall, “Holiday” is an entertaining
trip back in time, sure to delight fans of similar period pieces such as “The
Great Gatsby” and “Downton Abbey” — but it has a levity to its plot that will
leave audience members thinking about the choices they’ve made in love, the
time they’ve invested in work, and the money they’ve spent along the way.
This article appears in Dec 23-29, 2015.
