The Only Game in Town
Before I begin, let me warn you, I’m going to assume that whoever is reading this does not plan on seeing the show for him/herself. Therefore, I’ll be spoiling everything. So if you’re planning on seeing the show, I recommend that you not read this.
You’re still reading? Alright, you’re asking for it!! First will come a basic synopsis with opinions sprinkled throughout, and then a big cluster of my own thoughts/opinions/random notes of interest at the bottom.
I arrived at the Court Theatre, and let me say, that is one adorable theatre. I’d love to go back there. It’s got a very friendly atmosphere, as well as a cute little courtyard (and let’s not forget the cookies after the show!). There was a review posted on the wall. It was a more favourable review than any of the ones that I had seen. In all honesty, after reading so many terrible reviews, I wasn’t expecting to love the show. I was totally excited about seeing Wayne & Mandie, and very curious to see Wayne acting in a different kind of role than I’m used to, but on the whole, I wasn’t planning to be particularly moved by the play itself. That said, I was kind of surprised at how much I enjoyed the whole show. I thought it was very well done. Apparently, since those bad reviews that I’d read, much of the show had been reworked. I can only assume it was for the better, because I thought it was wonderful.
The show opens with Fran (Mandie) sitting on her bed, fingering the telephone, looking as though she had been crying. Eventually she gets up, puts on a sexy outfit, and leaves for a night out in Vegas (where the play takes place). There, she meets Joe Grady (Wayne), a lounge singer with a former gambling addiction. The scene of their meeting takes place behind a screen in silhouette form, framed with some flashing Vegas-type lights. She ends up inviting him up to her place, and we are introduced to Joe’s character. He’s a smooth talking, charming man, the type that always seems to get what he wants. He’s the type to say, “It’s ok, you don’t have to tell me what happened if you don’t want to,” and then a few beats later ask, “So what happened?” This sort of exchange happened quite often throughout the play, and Wayne did it very well. It was a perfect character for him. Anyway, they end up spending the night together, and both make it clear that it means nothing, no strings, no attachments. They continue like this for a while, and then one day Joe comes in needing to borrow money, as his gambling addiction had taken over again. We learn that the only reason that Joe has not moved out of Vegas is that he can never get enough money. He always gambles it away. As Joe becomes less able to take care of himself, Fran invites him to move in with her. Again, no strings, no attachments, both of them free to back out any time, no questions asked. Joe says that when he gets enough money to move out of town, he will. During this time of the two characters living together, we also learn about Fran: She has been involved with a married man (Lockwood) for 10 years, without whom she feels she can not live. She says that she gave him an ultimatum last time they spoke, which was a few years ago: she told him never to darken her doorway again unless he intended to stay with her. She continues to live her life for this man, convincing herself that he will one day come for her. We also learn about her family history: Her father, whom she loved, deserted her family when she was 10 years old, and the devastation eventually killed her mother. Fran decided to become a famous dancer so that her father would see her name in lights and not be able to resist getting in touch with her. Fran actually hates dancing, but it is the only way she can make a living.
One day, Fran and Joe come home and find Lockwood waiting for Fran. She has a decision to make. She tells Joe, “Thanks for the ride.” He gets the point and reluctantly leaves. Fran and Lockwood look at each other, tension builds...and then a dance erupts. The lights change to a redder shade, and the exchange between Fran and her secret married lover is expressed in a tango number. Without a word, they are able to effectively tell a whole story of what happens in the scene: Lockwood invites Fran to marry him and hands her a ring, and Fran gets excited and starts packing her bags. In the end, a phone rings, Fran answers, hangs up, and throws back the ring back at Lockwood. The ending was left someone ambiguous, as there were no words to the phone call. I found it a very original and well done scene. Not to mention, Mandie is a fabulous dancer. After Lockwood leaves, Joe returns to find Fran in a desperate attempt to cover her tears. To save her pride, she makes up a false story for Joe about their meeting.
The next scene (I think...maybe my chronology is off) takes place where Joe is doing his lounge act. He talks to the audience and asks them how many of them are in love. He congratulates the ones who are able to express their love, while he, on the other hand, has trouble using the word when it applies to himself. He says that he is in love with the woman with whom he is living and can not tell her. Rather, he says that he is in “Live” rather than “Love.” Then he sings a song. I think that a lot of the speaking part of the act was improvised, it seemed so spontaneous. With Wayne’s improv ability, it wouldn’t surprise me in the least if he made up the entire routine on the spot.
Throughout the past few scenes, Joe has been battling with his gambling addiction. When he comes home from his show, he shows Fran that he has nearly accumulated enough money to leave Vegas. He tells her of how he was planning on placing a bet on a baseball game on his way home, but something stopped him. He begs Fran to hide the money from him where he can’t get to it and gamble it away. Fran resists, but, as usual, Joe’s charm and humour overcome her, and she hides the money. She is unable to put it in a bank because the bank will not open for another 13 hours. Joe becomes increasingly obsessed with the whereabouts of his money. It begins as a humourous scene. Joe rips up the apartment searching for it, pretending just to be playing around. He begs Fran to tell him where it is. She refuses. He continues to tease her and beg her, and she continues to refuse as tension builds. Soon, the jokiness of his demeanor begins to fade and he begins smashing plates which hold sentimental value to Fran. In the end, Fran gets the money and throws it at Joe as she fights back tears, yelling, “Take it! Just take it!” Joe tells her that she is weak and that she shouldn’t give the money to him because she knows what he will do with it. Joe picks up the money and leaves the apartment to go gambling.
Final scene!: Joe returns to find Fran sleeping on the couch. He looks rather distraught. He tells Fran about what happened to him: He played many different games, and pretty much lost everything. He ended up even having to sell his car. However, somehow his luck turned around and he gained it all back and ended up profiting nearly enough to leave Vegas. However, he still didn’t feel happy. He realized that the reason was that if he got enough money, he would have to leave Fran. He finally confesses that he loves her. She, however, is unable to say the same back to him. He tears out the confession that the only reason that she can’t say “I love you” is because she is afraid of him leaving and her getting hurt. She does not want to subject herself to any pain. By the end of the scene, Fran breaks down and confesses her love for Joe. She kisses him, and the scene freezes in that kiss like a picture.
Now for my opinions and other notes of interest: This last scene was one of the most wonderful scenes. Very well done, very moving, very powerful. I could feel the tension of suppressed emotions building and building, and they finally exploded in the end. It left quite an impression. I also loved the tango scene with Lockwood. It expressed the scene so creatively and powerfully. As for the cast...well, it was perfect. Mandie apparently has never done theatre like this before, and I thought that she was wonderful. I hope she keeps doing more shows. And Wayne was fabulous too, and I’m not just saying that because I know him from Whose Line. He was especially powerful in the scene where he lost his temper looking for his money. Rather than letting the rage come spilling out and going overboard with it, he made it simmer underneath him and slowly build. It was frighteningly real. I loved seeing him in such a dramatic role, and I loved even more how well he did it. Parts of the play had little “Wayne-isms,” as I call them. He did some impressions (which were obviously perfect), as well as some other sounds and mannerisms that I recognized from WL and WBS. During a few of the dramatic, conversational scenes, there were many pauses, accompanied by the sound of rain pattering in the background. I felt that the rain sound really added to the scenes in setting an atmosphere as well as keeping the tensions high. I later found out that the rain sound effects were not sound effects at all. It was really raining outside. The rain seemed to come at all the perfect moments during the play, and, thankfully, disappeared before it was time to get on the freeway. Just icing on the cake to a wonderful evening :)