By Dale King
On the playbill, Joe DiPietro’s The Last Romance is described as a “comedy.” But the show, now being staged at the Delray Beach Playhouse, is not simply ha-ha funny. It is a deft combination of lamentations and laugher, a tribute to love in the golden years that’s neither a caricature nor an understatement.
Three talented theater veterans, a young man back from an extended hiatus from the Delray stage and a dog (yes, a live, four-legged pooch) make up the excellent cast of this tender and touching tale of life and love in the autumn of our years. “Life always gets in the way” is not only a theme, but an assessment of the human condition that’s dealt with gingerly, yet frankly, in this seriocomic production.
Scenic designer Cindi Taylor, who took such pains to dress the stage for the recently concluded production of The Foreigner, does a fantastic job of evoking October with a scattering of subtly tinted leaves across the stage and large trees standing on both sides, sturdily awaiting the arrival of winter.
The play is set in a dog park in Hoboken, N.J. Ralph Bellini (Kevin Reilley), an 80-year-old widower, is sitting on a park bench, apparently pondering the winter of his own life and the summer of his youth. His musings are interrupted twice, first by Rose Tagliatelle (Phyllis Spear), his overtly and overly protective live-in sister who, at first blush, acts like a nagging wife. She hustles him off to dinner in 30 minutes – no, make that 20 minutes, she huffs.
The interlude gives him time to strike up a non-conversation with Carol Reynolds (Diane Gilch), who has just arrived at the park with her own dog for a jaunt on a chilly day. With similar chilliness, she seems intent on sticking to her agenda. She basically fends off Ralph’s efforts to get her attention when he asks, for example, if she enjoys opera. When she offers little in the way of response, he goes even further, asking her if she likes “rap” music. He gets her attention, though the answer is more of a rebuke.
It’s not hard to figure out that Ralph and Carol are destined to become an “item.” Taking a cue from life, though, DiPietro makes sure that love grows slowly. Ralph gains hero status one day for locating Carol’s lost dog. They begin to flirt and talk in loving ways, unconcerned with life’s consequences. They revel in what becomes an adolescent-like courtship – replete with all its trials and uncertainties.
When the proposition arises of a romantic trip to Italy and a visit to La Scala in Milan to attend the opera, Carol is elated. Ralph, smitten by love, comes up with a daring plan for the trip. But at this point, life’s intrusions truly begin to get in the way as previously unstated truths change the courses of several lives.
The Last Romance isn’t an absolute tear-jerker, though an eye dab may be in order. Gilch and Reilley seem entranced with each other, and interludes of operatic music featuring Peter Fernandez give the audience a glimpse of a career that slipped through Ralph’s hands, though it was not his fault.
Accolades are truly in order for Reilley, who stepped in at the last minute for an actor who left due to illness. A native New Yorker with two decades on the stage, he is fresh from a run at Broward Stage, including an outstanding role as the overbearing father in A Shayna Maidel. As Ralph, he is glib, frank and opinionated, but also soft and tender of heart.
Gilch is equally adept, playing a role originally written for Marion Ross (Happy Days). She easily moves from dander-up to barriers-down in a truly natural way.
Spear has a particularly difficult role. She must act tough, though she is really a marshmallow inside. She takes care of her brother in motherly fashion, giving only minimal attention to her own needs and troubles. A lesser actor might have found that combination too tough to handle.
Fernandez, a former child actor on the stages of South Florida, brings a regal look to the Delray Playhouse in his return after 14 years away. He has a wonderful ability to lip-synch the operatic music in a non-intrusive and perfectly appropriate manner.
Special thanks are also in order for Bailey Galison, Dr. and Mrs. Barry Galison’s white canine “star” who is “part Maltese, part poodle.”
Director Randolph DelLago and technical director Chip Latimer do their jobs with ease. They are as much veterans as are the cast members assembled on the Delray stage. Lighting designer Nick DiGirolamo does well to keep the stage a tad on the dark side, matching the mood in many scenes. He does crank up the power to highlight dramatic moments, particularly late in the show. The combination of scenery and lighting design gives the audience the feel of an autumn afternoon at a park up north.
Overall, the play comes across as a study of lives where dreams can sometimes fall by the wayside and hopes can take unexpected turns.
THE LAST ROMANCE continues through April 7 at the Delray Beach Playhouse, 950 NW 9th St., Delray Beach. For tickets, call (561) 272-1281, extension 4, or email delraybeachplayhouse@gmail.com.