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| Broadway legend, Carol Lawrence (Tony nominated for her role as Maria in the classic "West Side Story") is Edna in Jason Odell Williams' comedy-drama-romance "Handle With Care," at the Westside Theatre/Downstaits. Directed by Karen Carpenter, the play for an ensemble of four runs through March 30, 2014. Photo by Doug Denoff. |
It's easy enough to acknowledge that the heart is a delicate organ.
In Jason Odell Williams' "Handle With Care," at the Westside Theatre through March 30th, a trip to America is meant to help heal a broken heart and revitalize an old flame. These longings of the heart lead to strange coincidences in this charming little dramedy.
Edna (Carol Lawrence, Tony-nominated for her role as Maria in "West Side Story") brings her granddaughter Ayelet (Charlotte Cohn) with her from their home in Israel on a quest in small-town America. While at a motel in Goodview, Virginia, Ayelet's beloved "safta" dies and she entrusts DHX to ship the body home. DHX may be reliable but shlubby Terrence (Sheffield Chastain) is decidedly not.
"Handle With Care" opens with Ayelet name-calling Terrence in Hebrew over the loss of her grandmother's body. In desperation, Terrence calls in his boyhood buddy, Josh (Jonathan Sale) to interpret.
"You speak Jewish, don't you?," Terrence implores.
Cohn's Hebrew rant is wonderfully mellifluent. It has spice and plays beautifully off Chastain's naif dumbfoundedness.
As the play moves back and forth in seamless and well-placed flashbacks, the cast under Karen Carpenter's direction makes the most out of the situation. "Handle With Care" is a holiday romance, in all senses of the word-- love, adventure, with a touch of the supernatural-- and it is utterly enjoyable.
For more information about "Handle With Care," please visit http://www.handlewithcaretheplay.com/.
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| Charlotte Cohn and Carol Lawrence in Jason Odell Williams' "Handle With Care," at the Westside Theatre/Downstairs, directed by Karen Carpenter. Photo by Doug Denoff. |
Edna (Carol Lawrence, Tony-nominated for her role as Maria in "West Side Story") brings her granddaughter Ayelet (Charlotte Cohn) with her from their home in Israel on a quest in small-town America. While at a motel in Goodview, Virginia, Ayelet's beloved "safta" dies and she entrusts DHX to ship the body home. DHX may be reliable but shlubby Terrence (Sheffield Chastain) is decidedly not.
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| Charlotte Cohn, Jonathan Sale and Sheffield Chastain in "Handle With Care." Photo by Doug Denoff. |
"Handle With Care" opens with Ayelet name-calling Terrence in Hebrew over the loss of her grandmother's body. In desperation, Terrence calls in his boyhood buddy, Josh (Jonathan Sale) to interpret.
"You speak Jewish, don't you?," Terrence implores.
Cohn's Hebrew rant is wonderfully mellifluent. It has spice and plays beautifully off Chastain's naif dumbfoundedness.
As the play moves back and forth in seamless and well-placed flashbacks, the cast under Karen Carpenter's direction makes the most out of the situation. "Handle With Care" is a holiday romance, in all senses of the word-- love, adventure, with a touch of the supernatural-- and it is utterly enjoyable.
For more information about "Handle With Care," please visit http://www.handlewithcaretheplay.com/.
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