By the Sea Productions in Morro Bay opened its 10th season on Valentine’s Day eve with a staged reading appropriate both for the date and, apparently, the audience.
The Last Romance, a nearly 20-year-old play by Tony Award winner Joe DiPietro, includes roles for three actors of a certain age, one opera singer, and one dog—and judging by the audience reception, all five are a hit in this production.
Well, maybe David Trajan as the singer holds a slight edge. Every one of his appearances onstage—performing snippets of various operas in his commanding tenor voice—elicits great applause (and appropriately so).
It’s an impressive feat besting a four-legged animal on the applause meter, especially when it’s the renowned Mr. Boodles playing Peaches, a chihuahua mix whose presence at a dog park provides the meet-cute for our lovers, Ralph and Carol (Don Gaede and Kate Kravets).
Anyone looking for a little comedy, a little romance, and a little opera will find it all here.”
Gaede and Kravets (looking a little too young, it must be said, for their characters’ stated ages) have a nice chemistry. Their voices—his teasing and playful (especially when he raps a love song), hers gentle (until it isn’t)—add to this enjoyable evening of listening.
A game Rosemarie Lagunas as Ralph’s irascible sister adds a raspy component to the musical lilt of the play, matching the background of barking dogs that underscores a great deal of the action.
Director Rhonda Crowfoot also gives the actors room to punch the one-liners that pepper the script, so anyone looking for a little comedy, a little romance, and a little opera will find it all here.