Family dramedy at sitcom speed

Evelyn, 75, lives in the same Brooklyn apartment where she raised her children. Her best friend of over 30 years, Rose, lives across the hall. Their children care about their widowed mothers, but Evelyn’s son and daughter, Roger and Carol, bicker and fight almost constantly in their mother’s presence. So, what does the future hold for Evelyn? And for that matter, what about Roger and Carol, since their lives are not exactly on-track?


These are some of the dilemmas present in the original play, Sunset Park, by Marley Sims and Elliot Shoenman, currently at Scripps Ranch Theatre. The play is slick and moves swiftly, much like a sitcom, which is not surprising since the authors were writer-producers for many years on the TV show, Home Improvement.

Directed with a deft professional hand by Eric Poppick, there seems to be an overly reverent regard for the script, which really could use some tightening.

Carm Greco as Evelyn does an excellent job of holding the play together, getting huge laughs in the process. As she grapples with thorny decisions regarding her apartment building going co-op, and dealing with where she may live the rest of her years, she is able to bring an effective emotional force to her part.

Brenda Adelman, as Carol, and Charles Peters, as Roger, offer fine support in very difficult roles. Each must act as the butt of jokes, and deliver wisecracking zingers with the ease of stand-up comics.

As Rose, Connie Terwilliger, another Scripps Ranch veteran, is convincing as a woman fighting a myriad of health problems, but desperately trying to look at the bright side of things. She and Miss Greco have a seamless rapport with each other that serves the play well.

One of the more unusual aspects of this script, which debuted in 2005, is the inclusion of several flashback scenes showing Evelyn in the early years of her marriage with her husband, Benny, in the small apartment. Kristin Woodburn and David Ryan Gutierrez essay these roles with convincing realism.

It is always difficult to play a hateful character in a comedy, but Haig Koshkarian plays Evelyn’s cruel father-in-law with solid conviction in the flashback scenes.

Andy Scrimger’s Brooklyn apartment set is well designed, though a bit too elegant for Evelyn’s means and apparent taste level. The lighting design by Michael Barahura is superb, especially in the flashback scenes, and Steve Murdock’s sound design is masterful, particularly in the incidental music selections and the pre-recorded phone conversations, complete with authentic background noise.

While the script has much to recommend it, especially the universal theme of long-held family secrets and conflicts, it throws in too many issues for one play. Evelyn’s anger, for example, cools a little too quickly, and the apartment question gets resolved too late.

But this is an entertaining show, charmingly produced and well acted, ending much as it began with a nice cozy chat between best friends, Evelyn and Rose.