Bess Wohl’s Comedy Questions 50-Year Marriage

by Zack Rogow

From the opening lines of Altarena Playhouse’s production of the Tony Award-nominated play “Grand Horizons,” we know we’re in for a wild ride. Nancy and Bill, a couple in their late 70s, sit down to a routine dinner in an independent living community for seniors. Out of the blue, Nancy announces, “I think I would like a divorce.” Without batting an eye, Bill answers, “All right.”

Playwright Bess Wohl slowly unravels why that marriage of five decades starts to disintegrate without a ripple. Soon after the couple decide to split, enter their sons Brian and Ben (Tyler Iiams and Peter Marietta), along with Ben’s very pregnant wife, Jess (Laura Morgan). The younger generation is outraged and puzzled that mom and dad (Ellen Brooks and Ron Dritz) would end what their adult offspring always considered a perfectly fine marriage.

Bess Wohl’s script includes some fantastic laugh-out-loud humor, delicately interwoven with authentic human connections. Her comedy deals compassionately with big questions about love, passion, and family. “Grand Horizons” explores the inability to communicate honestly, whether in a marriage or a parent-child bond.

In one of the most moving scenes, the mother honestly confesses to her younger son Brian that much of her real emotional life was actually outside their family. The son reacts negatively: “You want to talk about why I can’t ever …find intimacy—I never saw it.” The mother comes back with a comment that hits home: “Well, maybe you’re seeing it now.”

The entire cast handles well both the play’s humor and drama. Tyler Iiams creates a nuanced portrayal of Brian as the lovable but scattered son who teaches drama to children, trying to include all his 200 students in one production of “The Crucible.”

Lively cameos also spice up two scenes: Brian brings home Tommy (Thomas Hutchinson) from a gay bar to escape his family’s high drama. And as Carla, a surprise character, Lori Mrochinski wins us over.  She bursts in as Bill’s girlfriend in a well-crafted, stand-alone mini-drama. Watch for her comic hijinks.

Director Angela Mason expertly guides the comedy, cleverly using 60s and 70s rock music and R&B tunes to punctuate scene changes. Songs like “Breaking Up Is Hard to Do” echo the family’s struggles with the parents’ looming divorce, adding a fun, comic touch.

Even though Altarena Playhouse is celebrating their 87th anniversary and half a million attendees over the decades, I had never been to that theater. I was impressed with Tom Curtin’s highly professional and realistic set design of the couple’s living space, and with Katina Psihos Letheule’s artistic direction.

And I enjoyed the intimacy of the theater. The audience is so close to the action that you can hear all the gasps and chuckles. It’s well worth a trip to Alameda to see Altarena’s  fine production of “Grand Horizons.”

 

Zack Rogow is a Bay Area playwright, dramaturg, and literary translator. www.zackrogow.com

“Grand Horizons” by Bess Wohl, directed by Angela Mason, set design by Tom Curtin, lighting by Adrian Gilstrap, sound by Vince Lucchesi, scenic artisan Jeremy Letheule, costumes by Ava Byrd, at Altarena Playhouse, in Alameda, California. Info: altarena.org – to February 23, 2025.

Cast: Ellen Brooks, Ron Dritz, Thomas Hutchinson, Tyler Iiams, Peter Marietta, Laura Morgan, and Lori Mrochinski.

Banner photo: Tyler Iiams, Ellen Brooks, Laura Morgan, Ron Dritz, Peter Marietta. Photos: Grizzly De Haro