Playwright Norman Shabel, a retired attorney known more for his dramatic plays and novels, has a flair for comedy. His one act play “Are The Lights Still On In Paris?”, written in 2006 and first performed in Philadelphia in 2007, is concluding its three-performance run on Thursday, May 8 at 7 p.m. in the Jewish Cultural Arts (JCAT) production at the Michael-Ann Russell Jewish Community Center in North Miami Beach.
The comedy is loosely based on Shabel’s daughter and sister visiting him and his wife in Paris.
Although the play begins in a serious, dramatic tone about a young woman Laura (played by actress Aletta Kemp) coming to Paris with her parents to complete treatments to battle cancer, the initial dramatic scenes with Laura and parents Paul (Alan Goodman) and Alicia (Stephanie Manner) turn quickly into comedy.
The audience learns that Laura is on the road to recovery from cancer in spite of her wearing a wig throughout all the scenes in the play. Instead, the bulk of the story centers on the relationship of Alicia and Paul, who are hoping to rekindle their romance in Paris.
The laughs begin when Alicia gets a phone call from her former Parisian lover Louis (Larry Chidsey), whom she initially tells Paul is only a friend from her past. However, Paul gets suspicious at first when he sees Alicia become glamorous when she invites her old flame to dinner with the family.
From left to right: Tommi (Zoe Kanter), Louis (Larry Chidsey), Alicia (Stephanie Manner), Laura (Aletta Kemp) and Paul (Alan Goodman) watch Louis kissing Laura’s hand in a scene from playwright Norman Shabel’s “Are The Lights Still On In Paris” at the Michael-Ann Russell Jewish Community Center in North Miami Beach.
The suspicious Paul is not as amused as the audience is when Alicia greets Louis with a strong embrace. Paul’s curiosity about Louis turns to jealousy when he outright accuses Alcia of having romantic feelings for Louis. Alicia shows some jealousy of her own, resenting Paul having to work, even in romantic Paris, with his young assistant Tommi (Zoe Kanter) about a film he is planning to make. Alicia accuses Paul of having an affair with Tommi. To further complicate matters, young Laura is falling in love with the charming Parisian bred Louis, a fact that disgusts both Paul and Alicia and unites them in pleading to Laura to reconsider her feelings.
What is humorous is not really the plot although the misunderstood intentions of Alicia, Paul, Laura and Louis are funny on the surface. Rather it is the reactions of the characters to each other as they evaluate their relationships that create humor, especially with the back and forth insults that Alicia and Paul exchange regarding themselves and Alicia pining for Louis.
Alan Goodman especially shines in the play, portraying Paul as a humorous Walter Matthau type personality. Paul is a grouchy husband and father who is suspicious of Alcia, Louis and Laura’s intentions. Goodman’s behavior, mannerisms and plenty of one-line jokes alone makes the play both funny and memorable. Goodman sets the tone for humor with his complaints and fits of jealousy that add fodder for the other characters.
Also standing out is Stephanie Manner, who as Alicia has her funniest scenes fawning over Louis and sparring with Paul over his obsessions. Aletta Kemp shines when she expresses rage over her parents’ disgust with her budding relationship with Louis and is outrageously funny in one scene in which she rants against her parents.
From left to right: Tommi (Zoe Kanter), Louis (Larry Chidsey), Alicia (Stephanie Manner) react to the hilarious outbursts by Laura (Aletta Kemp) in a scene from playwright Norman Shabel’s “Are The Lights Still On In Paris?” at the Michael-Ann Russell Jewish Community Center in North Miami Beach.
Rounding out the interaction of the four main characters is Larry Chidsey as the sophisticated Parisian Louis. Chidsey displays a Charles Boyer type appearance and mannerism, stereotyping the Parisian man as a lover of women but not of marriage.
Actress Linda Drozdow adds to the cast for her humorous portrayal of Fran, the ditzy sister of Paul. Drozdow plays Fran with a heavy Fran Drescher New York accent that made her scenes hilarious. Zoe Kanter as Tommi became the mediator who attempted to create order among the hilarious chaos created by the other characters.
The play infects a more serious tone, but never at the expense of laughs when Alicia reveals an unexpected surprise that leads to a turn of events that changes the relationships of all the characters by the end of the play. Adding to the brisk pace of the 90-minute play are multiple scenes that end with plenty of punch lines, with the most memorable involving scenes with Alicia, Paul and Laura.
( From left to right: Paul (Alan Goodman), Tommi (Zoe Kanter), Alicia (Stephanie Manner), Louis (Larry Chidsey) and Fran (Linda Drozdow) in a scene from playwright Norman Shabel’s “Are The Lights Still On In Paris?” at the Michael-Ann Russell Jewish Community Center in North Miami Beach.
JCAT Artistic Director JC Gutierrez is to be credited with his direction of the six actors in a brisk production that involved a lot of blackouts and quick changes in multiple scenes. Gutierrez had a talented crew with costume and scenic designer Ariana De La Hoz, stage manager Megan Zorrila, choreographer Valerie Vega, assistant stage manager Sara Mejia and Props assistant Jade Mesa, who all succeeded in a funny and memorable JCAT production.
Jewish Cultural Arts (JCAT) production of playwright Norman Shabel’s one act comedy “Are The Lights Still Out in Paris?” has its final show on Thursday, May 8 at the Michael-Ann Russell Jewish Community Center, 18900 NE 25 Ave. in North Miami Beach. Tickets range from $25-35. For tickets and more information, go to marjcc.org or call 305-932-4200×130.
