Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

California Suite at Scripps Ranch Theatre

Neil Simon set his 1968 comedy, Plaza Suite, at New York's Plaza Hotel. As if the Left Coast demanded equal time, Simon wrote California Suite (1976). In four one-acts, guests at the Beverly Hills Hotel unravel amid elegance.

"Visitor from New York": Hannah Warren (Julie Anderson Sachs), speed-demon editor of Newsweek, battles with ex-husband, screenwriter William (Eddie Yaroch) over visitation rights for their teenage daughter.

"Visitor from Philadelphia": faithful hubby Marvin Michaels (Bernard X. Kopsho) awakens to find a.) it's 11:00 a.m., and b.) Bunny, a dead drunk hooker, is buried under the sheets - and his wife Millie (Susan Clauson Andrews) is on her way from LAX.

"Visitors from London": Academy Award night, pre- and post-. British nominee Diana Nichols (Teri Brown), preps for the event with husband Sidney (Brian Salmon); they return, sloshed, around 3:00 a.m.

"Visitors from Chicago": the Franklins and Hollenders decided to vacation together. Bad idea: by the time they reach Beverly Hills, they aren't just on each others nerves, they're crawling inside.

Simon builds much of the humor on cheap stereotypes: NYC vs. LA. So we are health nuts, morally lax, guru-guided spaceballs. The subtext's the biggest joke, though: all visitors are from out of town. Once at the hotel, they make locals look downright sane.

Simon also relies on his fire and fall back pattern. When Marvin missteps, for example, he retreats guilt-laden to the status quo. Simon does the same with the one-acts: push confrontations to the point of deep revelation, then pull away and tie things together with convenient bows. His mode in California Suite - and Plaza Suite, for that matter - is aggressive/passive.

The script calls for a posh combination living room/bedroom. Scenic designer Chad G. Dellinger delivers with creamy lemon walls, shiny leather upholstery, and nothing out of place. Though the lighting's on the bright side, Melissa Coleman-Reed's smart costumes range from sportswear to Diana's gown for the Red Carpet, and its ungainly, Quasimodo hump. Jason Connors' background music's familiar oldies, like Tom Jones' "It's Not Unusual," Muzak'd.

Although the actors often begin with mid-to-late scene intensities, performances range from competent to impressive: Salmon's Sidney, dry as an arid martini in "London"; Andrews's initially gentle Millie, arcing from shock to stability in "Philadelphia"; and the quartet's knockabout timing and physicality in the trash the suite farce "Chicago."

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

The vicious cycle of Escondido's abandoned buildings

City staff blames owners for raising rents

Neil Simon set his 1968 comedy, Plaza Suite, at New York's Plaza Hotel. As if the Left Coast demanded equal time, Simon wrote California Suite (1976). In four one-acts, guests at the Beverly Hills Hotel unravel amid elegance.

"Visitor from New York": Hannah Warren (Julie Anderson Sachs), speed-demon editor of Newsweek, battles with ex-husband, screenwriter William (Eddie Yaroch) over visitation rights for their teenage daughter.

"Visitor from Philadelphia": faithful hubby Marvin Michaels (Bernard X. Kopsho) awakens to find a.) it's 11:00 a.m., and b.) Bunny, a dead drunk hooker, is buried under the sheets - and his wife Millie (Susan Clauson Andrews) is on her way from LAX.

"Visitors from London": Academy Award night, pre- and post-. British nominee Diana Nichols (Teri Brown), preps for the event with husband Sidney (Brian Salmon); they return, sloshed, around 3:00 a.m.

"Visitors from Chicago": the Franklins and Hollenders decided to vacation together. Bad idea: by the time they reach Beverly Hills, they aren't just on each others nerves, they're crawling inside.

Simon builds much of the humor on cheap stereotypes: NYC vs. LA. So we are health nuts, morally lax, guru-guided spaceballs. The subtext's the biggest joke, though: all visitors are from out of town. Once at the hotel, they make locals look downright sane.

Simon also relies on his fire and fall back pattern. When Marvin missteps, for example, he retreats guilt-laden to the status quo. Simon does the same with the one-acts: push confrontations to the point of deep revelation, then pull away and tie things together with convenient bows. His mode in California Suite - and Plaza Suite, for that matter - is aggressive/passive.

The script calls for a posh combination living room/bedroom. Scenic designer Chad G. Dellinger delivers with creamy lemon walls, shiny leather upholstery, and nothing out of place. Though the lighting's on the bright side, Melissa Coleman-Reed's smart costumes range from sportswear to Diana's gown for the Red Carpet, and its ungainly, Quasimodo hump. Jason Connors' background music's familiar oldies, like Tom Jones' "It's Not Unusual," Muzak'd.

Although the actors often begin with mid-to-late scene intensities, performances range from competent to impressive: Salmon's Sidney, dry as an arid martini in "London"; Andrews's initially gentle Millie, arcing from shock to stability in "Philadelphia"; and the quartet's knockabout timing and physicality in the trash the suite farce "Chicago."

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Best of 2001: Best Historic Building In Old Town For Out-Of-Town Visitors

Next Article

Best of 2001: Best Place For A Late-Night Hookah

Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader