Optimism gives you disappointment.
Cynicism gives you the world.
By Eric George Tauber
SAN DIEGO — I’d heard that Steve Martin was a far more complicated man than the “wild and crazy guy” we’ve come to know on the screen. But I didn’t know how dark and cynical he was until I saw Meteor Shower at the Old Globe.
Norm and Corky are a middle aged couple who –through counseling tapes and seminars- have ritualized all of the little apologies that come with marriage. They live in a nice house in Ojai and they have invited the Newmans over to watch a meteor shower. The Newmans know the Coopers, who could be an advantageous “in.” Greg Germann seemed very natural and likable as Norm. Jenna Fischer was funny, but a bit over the top as Corky, sometimes losing us through the twists and turns of her emotional journey.
The Newmans arrive bearing a pricey bottle of wine. Josh Stamberg as Gerald is pretty cheesy and full of himself. He’s not shy about telling us that the wine cost $80. Through charm and chutzpah, he seems pretty confident that he can get any woman into his bed and makes us hope that he succeeds … and catches something.
Alexandra Henrikson plays Laura, an aloof, calculating, sexy Jezebell. A former editor of Vogue, she wears a hot pink pencil dress and high heels to a casual get-together in the country. Her every strut leaves a little wisp of smoke.
The two couples could not be more different. Norm and Corky “respect and honor” each other. Gerald and Laura fight. The Newmans make a sick game of getting people to reveal the intimate details of their marriages by fabricating skeletons of their own. Norm and Corky want to reach the next rung of the social ladder. Gerald and Laura are looking for a three-way.
Meteor Shower reminded me of Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? with its dark comedy and sexual tension. But then, things get surreal as the Newmans make multiple entrances, each one a sort of “do over.” And reality is warped further from there.
A sudden tragedy becomes an opportunity for seduction, and that was where they lost me. Maybe I’m taking it too personally, but as a widower, I have yet to find humor in such a painful loss.
Meteor Shower plays at the Old Globe through September 18.
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Tauber is a freelance writer specializing in coverage of the arts. He may be contacted via eric.tauber@sdjewishworld.com. Comments intended for publication in the space below MUST be accompanied by the letter writer’s first and last name and by his/ her city and state of residence (city and country for those outside the United States.)