NEW YORK—Not as funny as it could be but enjoyable nonetheless is the Broadway revival of Old Acquaintance, John van Druten's 1940 bittersweet comedy about two lifelong friends who must live with the choices they've made.
Katherine "Kit" Markham (Margaret Colin) is one of the darlings of New York City's literary world, living the life of a bohemian with a string of lovers over the years. Her latest flame is Rudd Kendall (Corey Stoll), a much younger man who would marry her in an instant if she agreed. Averaging one book every four years, her works are critical successes and rather poor sellers.
Meanwhile, her best friend, the flamboyant Mildred "Millie" Watson Drake (Harriet Harris in a wonderfully over the top role) is a "hack writer" who turns out novels one right after the other. Considered "tripe" by critics (and Kit), they are enormously popular with the public.
Although each is dismissive of the other's lifestyle (Kit with her New York parties and Millie with her large home in Pelham), they share a common bond of loneliness (even if they don't admit it). Millie's husband (Stephen Bogardus) left her years ago, but she still carries a torch for him while Kit is so afraid of commitment that when she finally begins to take Rudd seriously, it may be too late.
There's also the issue of Millie's 19-year-old daughter Deirdre (Diane Davis), who is enamored of Kit to the point of hero worship. This leads Millie to feel threatened by Kits seeming "freedom." (It's interesting to note that both characters, free-thinking and liberated in their own way, are actually quite conservative underneath.)
With plot lines which could lead to either farce or drama, Druten goes the middle route, highlighting the importance of grabbing on to love while you can and learning to live with past decisions. It's an interesting tale, but staged so that things move too slowly to be really involving. The other major problem is that Kit simply isn't as engaging as she should be. The character may have been envisioned (either by Colin or director Michael Wilson) as a more stable counterpart to Harris's scenery-chewing antics, but she comes across as bland (especially in her scenes with Stoll and Davis), without really bringing forth any serious emotion until late into the third act. Harris, on the other hand, is a joy to watch, with a steamroller effect that often proves her character's undoing.
Still, Colin has good chemistry with Harris and their scenes together effectively display the bonds of friendship and pain that Kit and Millie share. The final scene between the two is quite touching. The sets by Alexander Dodge are excellent, as are the costumes by David C. Woolard.
Also in the cast are Gordana Rashovich and Cynthia Darlow.
Old Acquaintance
Presented by the Roundabout Theatre Company
American Airlines Theatre
227 West 42nd Street
Tickets: 212-719-1200 or www.roundabuottheatre.org
Closes: August 19, 2007
Judd Hollander is the New York correspondent for the London publication The Stage.
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