Same Time Next Year

Same Time Nest Year

by Bernard Slade

presented by The Classics Theatre Project

My thoughts on Same Time Next Year or Love, Loss, and What They Wore.

Same Time Next Year is set up for success. It is presented in the cozy space of the Stone Cottage and made even cozier by Joey Folsom’s design of a rustic cabin interior which consists of a bed, two chairs, a couple tables, and an old piano. The audience sits on both sides of the performance area, never more than a few feet from the actors. Aided by Louis Shopen’s lighting. an intimacy is created that enhances both the playfulness and the poignancy of Same Time Next Year. It is also greatly enhanced by the fact that the characters in Bernard Slade’s two hander are played by a real-life wife and husband, Madyson and Andrew Manning.

The play starts in 1951 when George, a businessman from the East Coast, and Doris, a housewife and mother from Oakland, meet at a restaurant and wind up sharing a bed the same evening. They, although from very different backgrounds, immediately connect and this first meeting turns into a tryst that lasts decades, but only for one weekend a year at the same country inn cabin.

Both George and Doris are married and between them have six children and in their decade spanning “romance” they share stories of their children, their spouses, their jobs. their happy times, and times of devastating sorrow. The characters grow and change and part of the fun of watching Same Time Next Year is not knowing what has happened to the characters since the last meeting. In many ways their changes reflect the changes in America during the period 1951 - 1975. From Harry Truman to Gerald Ford was not an easy journey.

However, these two remarkable actors make our journey a most pleasant one and we are easily invested in the story. It is easy to be charmed by Madyson Manning’s Doris. She at first comes across as a simple young Catholic woman but her strength and determination are soon apparent. Manning has a presence and charisma that falls somewhere between Judy Holliday and Goldie Hawn. She can take you from laughter to tears in the same scene and is also a quite adept physical comic as her pregnancy scene reveals.

Andrew Manning, also a terrific comic actor, has the lion’s share of the most intensely dramatic and emotional scenes which he handles beautifully. His timing is impeccable throughout the play and especially in his scenes on the phone. His George is a dedicated family man for sure, but he makes it evident that he can’t keep his hands off of Doris and his passion for her is palpable. It’s true that the Mannings have a bit of a “home team” advantage but it’s an advantage for us as well as every heartfelt moment, every moment of anger, every moment of tenderness rings true.

There is no costumer credited here, but someone did excellent work having the outfits change with the times and Doris’s hippy garb was outstanding.

Director Jackie L. Kemp, who also designed the sound, does my favorite kind of directing here and that is making it look like there was no direction at all. Every move the actors make feels authentic and so “in the moment” that you would never know there must have been hours of blocking.

Same Time Next Year is a warm, sincere, and very funny play. It is a time capsule of sorts filled with love, laughter, tears. and the experiences that make up a lifetime. I highly recommend an evening with George and Doris.