By Eva Trieger
POWAY, California — In 1986, when Andrew Bergmann wrote Social Security it seemed he was intimately acquainted with every Jewish baby boomer’s family experience. While the play is set in New York, the same mishegas was (is?) happening all across the country, if not all over the world. Parents worry about their wayward teens, elderly parents are denying their physical limitations, and the “sandwich generation” is trying to figure out how to navigate the amorphous unchartered landscape between these two bookends.
David (Josh Click) and Barbara (Christy Reid) (Bobsy to her Mama) are art dealers, living the good life in Manhattan. Their comfortable and perhaps indulgent lifestyle is flowing along smoothly between gallery openings and entertaining famous artists until Trudy (Kelley Goode) and Martin (Tim Arends), Barbara’s sister and brother-in-law, throw a major wrench into the works. The Mineola, Long Island, couple has recently become almost empty nesters after Sarah, their daughter, has gone off to college. Struggling with seeing their young daughter as a quasi-adult, they insist on intruding into her newly found independence and cramping her style as she enjoys her foray into the world of sexual freedom. This evokes more than a smidgen of parental concern.
In order to rescue their hatchling, Trudy and Martin must go see Sarah for themselves. This means that Sophie (Peggy Schneider), Barbara and Trudy’s widowed mother will be moving to Manhattan, upsetting the perfectly designed aesthetically pleasing lives of Barbara and David. Sophie, her walker, her half-eaten sour ball candies and her critiques of her daughter’s –well, everything — make her a challenging houseguest at best. The heat is really turned up when the famous French painter, Maurice Koenig (Jim Clevenger) is invited to dinner. But, over hors d’oeuvres (is it pike mousse or gefilte fish?) things seem to take an unanticipated turn.
Though a fast-paced comedy, Social Security also tackles some of the thornier issues of parenting not only offspring, but those who gave us life. The script reveals the struggle to retain or regain one’s identity in a long-term relationship or at different phases of life. Each character is forced to examine how life and time have altered his/her expectations, desires and behaviors. The actors all successfully bring the audience along on their unique sojourns through the space and time continuum.
Speaking of the actors, the entire cast is quite an accomplished group, many winning awards in the world of stagecraft, set design or teaching at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park! While each actor more than pulled his weight, a stand out on stage was Kelley Goode. Through facial expressions, voice modulation and physical comedy, Ms. Goode delivered the rather uptight, moralistic, middle class housewife (and Brownie leader) to a T. And maybe, just maybe, that hussy, Ruthie Plotnick, did her a service in the long run!
Directed by Deb Zimmer and Keira Cardinal, the show was intended to allow audiences to “find a connection with at least one of the six layered characters.” For this reviewer, this was certainly the case. With an MFA in theatre production this Brooklyn native knows how to make the magic happen. Joining forces with co-producer Mickey Zeichick, audiences most assuredly got “lost in the humor and left the theater” with a smile on their faces.
PowPac Community Theatre is also proud to announce their success in securing a liquor license. At present the little bar serves wine, but beer is “on tap” and who knows, there may be a signature cocktail to accompany each show’s theme.
Social Security runs through October 12th and tickets may be purchased online at boxoffice@powpac.org or by phone at 858,679.8085.
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Eva Trieger is a freelancer specializing in the coverage of the arts.
It’s a very funny show! And so relatable!