OFF-BROADWAY REVIEW
ROMANCING A STONE He’s Jewish. She’s
Black. He’s 50.
She’s 20.
It’s
1953. The play’s blurb is so intriguing and full of possibilities that
one couldn’t simply ignore the fireworks such pairing might eventually
bring. Sadly, playwright Paul Manuel Kane missed his opportunity to turn this
promising premise into a real gem. Director Hillary Spector’s uninspired staging did not help in turning this play
around. Set in the early 50s, Paul Manuel Kane’s Sam Romance is about 50-year old Jewish hardware store proprietor named Sam
(Ed Kershen) who hires a 20-year old black music student named Natalie (Oni Brown)
to work in his store. Sam eventually falls for Natalie’s "intelligence and refined manners". Unfortunately,
Sam's only relative, cousin Rose (LeeAnne Hutchison) who works for Sam, opposes
the match. With the support of Luba (Neva Small), Rose breaks up the romance. The relationship between Sam and Natalie, which is what the play
is all about, is not fully developed. Expectedly, when Sam declares: "I
love Natalie." towards the end, it doesn't carry with it an iota of
believability. Natalie does not share Sam’s passion; she is cold and emotionless. The subplot of Rose
wanting to adopt a baby does not help in enhancing the main plot but rather,
veers away from it as the subplot appears to be more interesting than the main
plot. And this is just one of the many problems plaguing this play. The play's shifting point of view is distracting, as it straddles
between Sam and Rose, aggravated by the plot’s tug-of-war between Sam's wanting to marry Natalie and Rose's
desire to adopt a baby. It is difficult to sympathize with any of the characters because
they don't appear real at all. Characters in this otherwise realistic play
appear to be simply caricatures. Natalie appears too naive to be believable as
a real character, even in a 50s setting. Character motivations appear shallow, particularly Rose’s and Luba’s penchant for meddling in Sam’s affairs. Some of Rose’s actions are also never explained. For example, Rose tells her husband Joe (Todd
Licea) that she thinks Sam has met someone.
How Rose got that idea is never established. In another scene, Rose confronts
Luba, accusing the latter of having an affair with Sam. While the play does not
suggest that Rose is merely bluffing, one never knows where Rose got the idea
for this. Almost every scene ends with a character talking to
himself/herself, which is very unnatural. This device is also indicative of
problematic writing as the actor needs to verbalize his/her feeling rather than
showing it. In one scene where Sam tries to convince Rose that Natalie is right
for him, Sam says: "Have you ever seen a man so happy?" This line is
superfluous had the playwright succeeded in showing Sam's happiness at having
met Natalie. Sadly, the play fails to show this, thus the need to verbalize. Characters’ dialogue is riddled with clichés. Sometimes, a character would respond to another
character in a strange way which is neither funny nor witty. Example: Sam (referring to Joe): He has a vision. Rose: And so did Joan of Arc. Another example: Sam: What's up? Rose: The sun is up. The obstacles to Sam's goal (as represented by Rose and Luba's
opposition to Sam and Natalie's relationship) are not difficult to hurdle
because Sam could just choose to ignore them. With this lame obstacle, how can
you expect a compelling narrative? Natalie appears cold and stiff, even in scenes which are intended
to be romantic. One can behave in a refined manner without being cold and stiff.
The saving grace of this production is the performance of Ed Kershen as Sam.
Tod Licea, LeeAnne Hutchison and Neva Small also show competence in their
respective roles. However, Oni Brown’s lackadaisical performance as Natalie is hardly convincing. While the issues which this play tackles are undoubtedly dated,
the play does not even offer new insights. Even the stage design seemed rushed. The set designer simply
places a table cloth on a barrel to transform Sam's hardware store into Rose's
house. Then, without any warning, this play ends so abruptly as if to
please some restless members of the audience. If you are to believe Joan Rivers, that other show at Zinc Bar
would probably have been a more “fabulous” way of spending an evening with a couple in similar
situation: “She’s Black, He’s Jewish, They’re Married Still, Oy Vey!”. Or maybe not.
OFF-BROADWAY REVIEW OF SAM'S ROMANCE
Reviewed by Ron S. Covar
Published 2011-06-13
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