with celeb-studded audience Jack Nicholson, Sally Kellerman, Harry Dean Stanton and Robert Towne were just a few of the many celebrities attending the premiere of John Herman Shaner’s play, “Fellow Traveler.”
By Caroline Thomas/Special to The Malibu Times
The Malibu Stage Company premiered “Fellow Traveler,” a biting and amusing exploration of dysfunctional tension, to a star-studded audience on Thursday night. The evening proved to be engaging and startling as the political comedy/drama unfolded.
The company’s founding artistic director, Charles Marowitz, directed the drama written by stage and screen playwright John Herman Shaner (“They Call Me Mr. Tibbs” and “Goin’ South” are among his many credits).
“Fellow Traveler” deals with the struggles faced by two lifelong supporters of Soviet Russia who must come to terms with the collapse of communism in the post-Soviet world and the women in their lives who help them pick up the pieces.
Arnold Priest, neurotically and profoundly played by veteran actor Harold Gould, is a seasoned TV writer whose neuroses are taking hold of his life. Wife Providence, beautifully played by Mimi Cozzens, tries to talk her husband out of his undying obsession with all things communist, but his vestige in this dead ideology has taken its toll.
“The Cold War was an extremely stable arrangement,” waxes Arnold.
Humor hasn’t escaped Arnold who declares that his secret to good health is starting each day with “hot water with lemon and a leisurely pee. You do this all day and you don’t get much done … but you’re irrigated.
“I’m a medical phenomenon,” he proclaims. “Never sick a day in my life. Oh, once I had a 24-hour flu and a friend brought me fresh OJ. That friend happened to be Jack Nicholson.” Ironically, the playwright’s old friend (Nicholson) happened to be in the audience that night.
Arnold quips about his unending gratitude, “I criticized his life and his acting everyday for the next 35 years.”
Nicholson and pal Harry Dean Stanton, who were in the audience, gave out a good laugh at this line.
Soon we meet Arnold’s real nemesis, his best friend and former writing partner Dave Kreutzer.
Actor Michael Kagan stands out among this group of naturals with his bellowing entrance: “Look at the gorgeousness of this man!” (To his frail old friend.) When the patterned bickering ensues, he adds, “Don’t be argumentative, it’s not good for people who take Prozac.”
The bickering is appropriately uncomfortable to watch at times, but serves the purpose of unraveling Arnold’s lifetime of insecurities. Arnold admits that he loves aggravating Providence and Dave.
“I’m good at it,” he boasts.
He and Dave heatedly debate everything including communism versus Buddhism, and Karl Marx versus Richard Gere.
The respite comes from the sometimes-calming Providence but also from Dave’s refreshing new wife, Evening Star. Molly Weber makes her Los Angeles stage debut as the effervescent, chanting New Ager who disappoints Arnold with her ignorance in regard to Trotsky.
Act II proved to bring the most surprising moment of the play, when Cozzens fainted during the middle of a scene. The cast, crew and audience were stunned and worried by her collapse but she soon made a quick recovery and finished a tremendously emotional and demanding second half.
Ironically, Cozzens’ character becomes the pillar in Act II as she commands her husband to accept that “The Soviet Union hung you out to dry. There may be more Communists in Berkeley than Beijing.”
So, amongst the aggression, the dialogue continues to amuse. When Providence pushes Arnold on their lack of intimacy he proclaims, “My libido is fasting.”
Cozzens’ doctors attributed her fainting to low blood sugar, and the show has gone on without event. She and the cast will continue performances of “Fellow Traveler” through October. Showtimes are Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., and Sundays at 5 p.m. Seats are $20, with discounts for students, seniors and groups.
Tickets are available at the Malibu Stage Co. Box Office at 29243 Pacific Coast Highway or by calling 310.589.1998.