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'Sunshine' forecast in Fall River By Lorraine Lucciola, Standard-Times correspondent
 For 43 years Al
Lewis and Willie Clark were golden on stage. No one else in vaudeville
could touch them. Their skits were impeccable, guaranteed to bring the
house down every time. Their comedy was radiant. Variety, the weekly bible
of show business successes and failures, called them "the sunshine boys."
Off-stage, however, they waged a private war -- they couldn't stand each
other. The Little Theatre of Fall
River raises the curtain Friday on its two-weekend production of "The
Sunshine Boys" by Neil Simon. Directed by Dee Kullander, the show features
Bob Roy as Lewis and Bruce Kullander as Clark. Both actors are Little
Theatre veterans, having appeared in countless productions over the
group's 60-year history. Performing comedy, however, seems to bring their
talents to a hilarious boiling point. "The Sunshine Boys" promises to
reveal this energy once again. Mr. Roy describes Al Lewis as
"nice, quiet, an easy type of guy." "You like him," says Mr Roy. "But,
when he retired, Willie hated his guts and continued to zing, zing, zing.
So, when he zings, I zag." Mr. Kullander further defines
the relationship between his character and Mr. Roy's. "It's not a
love/hate relationship. It's strictly a hate/hate relationship," he notes.
So, why exactly does
Willie hate Al? After more than four decades, Al chose retirement and
simply walked away from the act; he knew when enough was enough. He went
to live with his daughter in New New Jersey, where he enjoys family, a
granddaughter and simple contentment in his later years. Willie has been fuming ever
since. In fact, he has devoted his cantankerous life to fuming and railing
against old age. He is ornery, uncooperative, proud and unforgiving. "When
he retired himself, he retired me, too! But, damn it! I wasn't ready yet,"
Willie bellows in one scene during a rehearsal at the Firebarn. Willie's nephew, Ben
Silverman, played by Jeff Belanger, takes care of his uncle's needs. He
checks on him every week and brings him food, bread, "six new kinds of
low-fat soup" and patience. Ben also acts as Willie's agent. On one trip,
he brings his uncle an offer --an opportunity to revive the genius of
"Lewis and Clark" in a television special about the days of vaudeville.
The plot of this
Neil Simon gem revolves around a reluctant reunion of unfinished business,
confessions and confrontations. Mrs. Kullander stops a
rehearsal just once in the first act to make sure her husband is overly
deliberate in the delivery of a line. The old partners have met in
Willie's apartment for a rehearsal and the air is thick with tension. Mr.
Kullander takes the action back to an entrance, emphasizing the line with
nervousness and urgency. It works. Mrs. Kullander has served the
theater group in many capacities through the years. She has overseen a
number of musical comedy revues, but "The Sunshine Boys" and "Breaking
Legs," a hilarious piece about the exploits of bumbling gangster-types set
in a tacky Italian restaurant, are the only two main-stage shows she has
directed. "Where 'Breaking Legs' was outwardly funny and played for
laughs, 'The Sunshine Boys' has more pathos and dimension to the
characters," she says. Other cast members include
David Splinter as Eddie, a young TV director; Carol Adkins as the nurse in
the vaudeville skit; Kelly Camara, also a nurse; John Kennedy Oliveira as
the patient; Bing McGrath as a TV director; and Al Deston as a TV
announcer. "The
Sunshine Boys" will be presented at the Firebarn, at Prospect Street and
Highland Avenue, Fall River, at 8 p.m. tomorrow and Saturday, Jan. 22
through 24, and at 2 p.m. this Sunday and Jan. 25. Tickets are $10 general
admission; $8 for senior citizens and $5 for children age 12 and under.
For reservations call (508) 675-1852.
Photo by John Baptista "Doctor" Bruce Kullander and Bob Roy (Al Lewis) rehearse a vaudeville-skit scene from "The Sunshine Boys," with Carol-Ann Adkins playing the part of a nurse. |  |
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