By Kyle Moore
Throw two perfectly dissimilar strangers into the crucible of the New York City subway system, and some pretty good stories can result. Veteran comedy writer Sy Rosen uses this precept as the springboard for his one-act conversation play, “Strangers on a Subway,” now playing at the Sidewalk Studio Theatre in Burbank.
For anybody who has ever had the pleasure of riding the New York rails, Clare Meehan’s set, fashioned out of honest-to-goodness cardboard, will draw grins of recognition. The same goes for the characters in this play. David Jay Barry is perfectly cast as just the guy you don’t want sitting next to you on a train – for the most part normal, but twitchy, chatty, slightly intrusive, and just polite enough that you can’t tell him to buzz off. Cordell Pace plays his foil with infinite patience, but it’s actually Pace’s character who has the more interesting story – his wife just left him for a serial killer. The two of them, yet another New York City odd couple, share a ride and their stories, and are treated to the ever-changing show of colorful characters who populate the subway. Kim Blackwell, Stephen Ferguson, Ben Kenber, Clare Meehan and Amy Oldham each make the most of their individual turns. (The entire company also deserves credit for a “best cast bios” award, if such a thing exists.) Rosen clearly knows what he’s writing about here, and his script is consistently funny, but a twisty ending nevertheless leaves us hungry for just a bit more out of his unusual and combustible pairing.
“Strangers on a Subway” at Sidewalk Studio Theatre, 4150 Riverside Drive in Burbank. Friday and Saturday night, 10:45 p.m. through Nov. 19. Tickets are $5. For reservations, call (818) 685-9939. |