One beautiful weekend a year. No cares, no ties, no responsibilities. Sounds grand, doesn’t it? Just swell? It’s exactly the picture Bernard Slade was trying to paint when he penned Same Time, Next Year. Probably. Appearing now at Compass Rose Theatre (for the next several weekends, at any rate) this somewhat dated stage comedy still has its humors and in its own right is a quaint little evening’s worth of oddly colored ‘old school’ humor. Directed by Gary Goodson, this two-person, two-hour experience has its moments and will let you reflect upon how our lives were structured back before ‘open marriages’ and ‘polyamory’ were more widely accepted as a cultural norm in the romantic world.
Scenically, the show is resplendent. Set Designer Omar A. Said has fabricated a rather charming and quaint cottage-inn interior into the play space, creating this seaside feel with depth and decoration that invites the audience into this cozy little love nest where our George and our Doris find themselves. The play itself takes place— as the title might imply— in a series of six scenes, each marking some years between the pair’s first encounter through to where the story ends. And much like any charming seaside inn, with the same owner, same doorman, same-sameness, the décor does not change inside. And haven’t we all been to those places that are trapped— at least from an interior decorative standpoint— somewhere decades back in time? Said’s hand-painted walls the overall spatial layout of the scenery lends itself to the show.
Bernard Slade’s play, in addition to being a bit dated, is crafted with the unique challenge of dead-long scenic changes. And Director Gary Goodson and Stage Manager Ryan Squires (along with an unnamed run-crew) do their best, all things considered. As each scene comes to a close, both actors exit and are expected to make a full costume change, in addition to the occasional ‘personal belongings’ change on the set (by way of Properties Designer Susan Flynn) without any hope of being able to do so in the blink of an eye. That’s on Slade’s writing. Goodson, Squires, the performers and the run crew do their best and are aided in full by Squires’ sound design. Lush, smooth musical numbers— often about romance— fill the scene-gaps, which are executed expediently. Costume Designer Susan Flynn sources appropriate pieces for each of the two characters as the years pass them by…though the pregnancy belly on Doris sits way too low (and no one ever seems to remember, when staging a pregnant character who is that far along that there should also be something to fill out the top half of the outfit.)
The play is well paced, if delivered a bit unevenly. Ann Marie Taglavore is quite striking in her role as Doris. From the moment she awakens in the bed in the very first scene right through to their final hug, you can’t help but be fascinated by her performance. Taglavore is settled readily into the 1950’s cadence and patois from jump street and adjusts her manner of speaking, though only subtly for most of the show’s temporal progression. It’s difficult to describe but Taglavore is convincingly living in the time in which the play takes place, whereas Omar A. Said, playing George, feels and sounds more modern. His delivery just lands on the ear with a harsh modernity, giving him unlevel footing when paired up against Taglavore.
Said is not without his charms, though often his scenes feel undercharged and detached— even ones where the dialogue might imply there should be more emotional connection. To his credit you get a wild ride out of the end of the third scene (which breaks up the play for intermission) with Said really gritting and bearing down into the character’s panic. And he’s insanely invested in working over that piano when trying to ‘unwind himself.’ Said does master the character’s initially awkward quirks and its quite engaging to watch his facial features, which often vividly express his character’s anxious disposition. Said’s shining moment is near the end of the fourth scene where you get a raw and visceral eruption from him, albeit momentarily, and you feel it like the gut punch that it’s meant to be.
There’s a moment in scene five when Taglavore’s Doris feels adrift, almost aloof, as if she’s a ghostly apparition passing through the room, alongside Said’s George, co-existing but never actually seeing or hearing one another. And that is a truly fascinating moment to behold, especially considering how wound up her character has been to that point. Taglavore does a phenomenal job of transitioning her character through the sweeps of time that pass in the play. When she hits 1965 (scene 4) there’s a hipness about her, a groovy vibe that infiltrates everything from the way she speaks to the way she moves around the stage. When she blasts into the George character about being a “guilt-announcer” in the second scene, you can feel her fiery rage splashing all over the place. There’s this unnamable and effortless ease with which Taglavore portrays her character’s emotions whilst staying simultaneously grounded in the reality of their situation. Versatile and engaging, you find herself wanting to delve into her half of the story with every word she says, especially with her convivial nature when it comes to ‘storytelling’ both good and bad about Harry.
A lovely and charming set, costumes that match the period, and a solid, engaging repartee with real chemistry between them, if a bit uneven on the emotional and tonal delivery, Same Time, Next Year will give you two hours’ entertainment if nothing else, for at least four more weekends’ worth of time this year.
Running Time: Approximately 1 hour and 50 minutes with one intermission
Same Time, Next Year plays through November 17th 2024 with Compass Rose Theater live at Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts— 801 Chase Street (third floor) in Annapolis, MD. Tickets are available for purchase by calling the box office at 410-980-6662 or in advance online.
