My Three Angels
It's holiday season, and once again, we are offered a variety of Christmas plays at various theaters. One very different dark comedy, My Three Angels, directed by Co-Artistic Director Larry Eisenberg, is playing at the Lonny Chapman Theatre in North Hollywood. This play was written by Samuel and Bella Spewack based on a French play La Cuisine Des Anges by Albert Hanson, and it is the only play by this duo that is regularly performed in repertory theaters.
A production of My Three Angels opened on Broadway in March, 1953, and closed after 344 performances. We're No Angels, adapted from the play, was made into a movie starring Humphrey Bogart, and again a new adaptation was made in 1989, starring Rober De Niro.
The play takes place in French Guiana around the turn of the century (splendid period costumes by Angela Eads) in the home of the Ducatel's, Felix (Doug Haverty), his wife Emilie (Julia Silverman) and their daughter Marie Louise (Kelsi Zahl). The Ducatel's home is in the back of the shop that Felix and Emilie have been operating for his wealthy cousin Henri Trochard (Chris Winfield, also creator of the set design). Unfortunately, Felix is a soft hearted business man who allows customers too much credit, and also a very poor bookkeeper which gives him reason to worry about Trochard arriving from France with his nephew Paul (Daniel Sykes) to check on the shop. Though they have their concerns, Marie Louise is enthralled over their expected arrival as she is anxiously awaiting Paul, the man she loves.
The Ducatels have hired three convicts from a work release program to repair their roof. The convicts have been incarcerated for various crimes, Joseph (Lloyd Pedersen), merely for embezzlement, Jules (Robert Gallo), for murdering his wife, and Alfred (Garrett Marshall) for killing his stepfather with a poker. Obviously, these three men have softened because they enmesh themselves in the lives of the Ducatels, and through guile, a little romance, and a seemingly well-trained snake, take the matters of the problems into their own hands to set matters straight, which they do with finesse making this an unforgettable Christmas for the Ducatels as well as the three convicts. As far as the other characters, it doesn't end quite so well!
Other members of the cast include Hersha Parady as customer Madame Perole and Michael Harrison as Lieutenant (a role alternated with two other actors). Everyone performs their roles with panache, particularly Winfield who plays the contemptible Trochard with discernment. Kelsi Zahl's characterization of Marie Louise is overly flighty and could be toned down.
My Three Angels plays Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM, Sundays at 2 PM, continuing through January 15, 2012. Performances on Sunday, December 25, and Sunday, January 1, will play at 7 PM. The Lonny Chapman Theatre is located at 10900 Burbank Blvd. in North Hollywood. For tickets or further information, call (818) 763-5990, or go online at www.thegrouprep.com.