A Depression-era comedy is revived with affection
Three Men on a Horse
Associated Press
JOCELYN NOVECK
March 25, 2011
You could do worse on a cold and dreary Manhattan night -- and there have been lots of those lately -- than warm up with a little horse betting.
Which is just what audiences are doing at curtain time each night at the off-Broadway's Samuel Beckett Theatre, where the Depression-era comedy "Three Men on a Horse" is being revived with affection and care by TACT/The Actors Company Theatre.
Of course, the horses -- with clever names like Horse Radish or I Need Da Money -- are fictional. But it's a sweet way to get the audience into the mood for a screwball comedy: Old-style bookies circulate among us, recording our picks. Cutouts of horses and their jockeys then race across the top of the stage. (Your reviewer, along with other Horse Radish fans, won 100 bucks in play money.)
It hasn't been a bad few weeks for George Abbott, the prolific playwright, producer and director who died in 1995 at the age of 107, following a 70-year career. The revival of his "Where's Charley?" drew stellar reviews at City Center, and now this little chestnut is having its moment.
To be fair, Abbott, famous for major shows like "The Pajama Game" and "Pal Joey," wasn't the main writer -- that was actor John Cecil Holm. Abbott came in to rewrite and direct. The show opened in 1935 and ran for 835 performances.
Given the era, money troubles are naturally never far from anyone's mind in this amusing little play, acted with verve and charm throughout, though occasionally crossing that fine line between capturing the period and veering into caricature.
Erwin Trowbridge is a mousy suburban husband in New Jersey who adores his wife and detests his boorish brother-in-law. He brings in a paltry salary writing verse for a greeting card company. But he has a secret talent.
Erwin is a whiz, it turns out, at studying and picking winning horses. He never bets, just picks 'em for fun on the bus home. It's all harmless, until the day a trio of down-on-their-luck gangsters discover his talent. Naturally, they'll seek to make him an offer he can't refuse.
As Erwin, Geoffrey Molloy is entertaining but sometimes over-the-top in his mousiness. The acting is at its best in the gangster scenes, especially when the ringleader's girlfriend, Mabel, is around. A blonde former showgirl -- with a heart of gold, of course -- she's played with endearing zaniness and lovely comic timing by Julianna Zinkel.
Gregory Salata is fun as ringleader Patsy, her bumbling and sometimes brutish boyfriend, but it is Don Burroughs, as underling Frankie, who best captures the screwball mood, with one after another exaggerated but priceless facial expression.
At the end of Act 2 -- there are three, but director Scott Alan Evans does an excellent job keeping it all moving -- we meet Mr. Carver, Erwin's boss, a hysterical bundle of nerves played to the hilt by James Murtaugh. Is the greeting-card business really that stressful? Good to know.
Key assets are the astute period costumes by Martha Hally, and the clever set by Brett J. Banakis, which switches easily between suburban living room, barroom and hotel room.
It all adds up to a pleasantly entertaining couple of hours back in the '30s -- and you may even get to take some prize winnings home to the kids.
"Three Men on a Horse" runs through April 16.