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By Cynthia Citron
 SANTA MONICA, California —When George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart discovered that they couldn’t take it with them, they left it behind for Henry Jaglom. Jaglom, the theater and film auteur, has just written a new play that introduces the members of the Isaacs family, who, much like the family in You Can’t Take It With You, live to indulge themselves in things they love to do. In this case, their shared passion is the theater, and Jaglom’s play places them Just 45 Minutes From Broadway.
Heading the family is the richly drawn patriarch, George, or Grisha, a third-generation star of the prolific Yiddish theatre who has since had a long and successful career on the New York stage. George, a rather fussy hypochondriac, spends most of his waking time worrying that he can’t sleep. He is played by the pluperfect Jack Heller, who, with his rich cadences and ringing pronouncements resembles a latter-day Monty Woolley.
He is loved and coddled by his actress wife, Vivien (Diane Salinger), an ethereal sort of woman who takes her cues from the stars and her tarot cards and wafts around the house in a silky nightgown and negligee.
The family has recently been augmented by the return of their daughter Pandora (the dramatically high-strung Tanna Frederick), who has recently been “dumped” by her long-time lover who, apparently, could no longer deal with her intensity. “He broke up; I just got broken,” she explains.
Also part of the household is Larry (the comedic David Proval), Vivien’s brother, who is staying with them while he performs a minor part in Guys and Dolls at a nearby dinner theater. And finally, there is an aging waif, Sally (Harriet Schock), a boarder who is helping the family make ends meet and turns out to have a surprising relationship with them that isn’t revealed until near the end of the play.
Into this freewheeling household comes the “other daughter” Betsy (Julie Davis) to introduce her strait-laced fiancé, Jimmy (David Garver) to this family that she considers “weird.” A bundle of sibling rivalry with her younger sister, Pandora, and filled with anger and resentment toward her parents for the peripatetic theatrical life she was forced to endure as a child, Betsy is an uptight martinet who deplores the family’s lack of rules and boundaries. “Rules make you feel safe,” she insists. “Order, structure, clarity, keep you free from chaos.” Much to her dismay, however, Jimmy is charmed by her unorthodox family.
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Pandora, the central figure in this comic drama, continuously tries to placate her sister, whom she has always idolized, but Betsy will have none of it. She accuses Pandora, and the rest of the household of “putting on an act” and denies their feelings and desires, even after Pandora acknowledges, “I’m not willing not to be me. That’s why I’m alone at 30.” “They’re acting like they’re fine,” Betsy tells Jimmy. But Jimmy, once again, finds their “naked reactions” emotionally refreshing.
In spite of the ongoing confrontations, there is much humor in Just 45 Minutes From Broadway. Larry, especially, makes up absurd factoids and misidentifies famous vaudeville personalities, possibly to counter George’s erudite soliloquies on such people as Disraeli and the Thomashefsky acting family. “If you’re born stupid, it’s for life,” George murmurs. But not if you’re Henry Jaglom’s real-life daughter Sabrina, who writes in the program notes that her parents are “eccentric” and that they see expressed emotions as something “that would be a great scene in a movie.” Sabrina is easily recognizable in the character of Betsy, who is embarrassed and angered by her parents’ “odd behavior” and in the character of Pandora, who revels in it.
If there is one small criticism to be made of this 1930-ish screwball comedy, it is that the individual “eccentricities” of this household are too pronounced and too determinedly bizarre. As in You Can’t Take It With You, there is little subtlety in their self-absorbed shenanigans. And too much “quaintness” eventually tends to defeat its own purpose. A little cutting wouldn’t hurt. And a little stronger hand from director Gary Imhoff might moderate some of the excessive hand gestures and histrionics that dominate many scenes. Jack Heller provides the perfect example of what a little stillness can do to make a role truly riveting.
Meanwhile, there are some wonderful accoutrements to this entertaining production. Set and lighting designer Joel Daavid has produced a most marvelously cluttered and totally appropriate home for the cast on the large stage of the Edgemar Center for the Arts, and sound designer Mike Shear is spot-on with the nasal tones of Al Jolson singing songs that complement the mood.
All told, Henry Jaglom, with this play, has reinforced his reputation as a master storyteller and as a man with a way with words. Just 45 Minutes From Broadway should tickle New York theatergoers when it moves closer than 45 minutes away.
Just 45 Minutes From Broadway will continue Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 5 through December 20th at the Edgemar Center for the Arts, 2437 Main Street, in Santa Monica. Call (310) 392-7327 for reservations.
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