Review: Theatre West Tells a Wildly Funny & Familial Story With ‘The Goddamn Couple Down the Hall…’

Theatre West has an indisputable holiday hit that is the talk of Los Angeles: the thoroughly uproarious The Goddamn Couple Down the Hall (Oh… and Merry Christmas). The 62-years-and-running theatre company has always prided itself on plays that are motivated by more than just proffering fresh perspectives but ensuring that the audience is always all-out entertained. The Goddamn Couple takes it to the next level by winningly combining a loving family with the conflict of a dysfunctional couple who are, you guessed it, right down the hall.

On its face, the premise may sound almost quotidian: Engaged twosome Dana and Chad are hosting a Christmas Day get-together at their Pasadena condo for Dana’s parents Maureen and Jerry Woodruff as well as sister Sydney who arrives with Lance, her new beau in tow. However, despite merriment in the air, and the promise of a celebratory feast for the family, things head south when neighbors Lucinda and Kenny, a husband-and-wife powder keg, have a war of words over Florida oranges and dry turkey before ostensibly taking their domestic dispute up a notch — so much so that a distressingly placid aftermath pervades the room. As Jerry puts it, “He called her a bitch and said he would end her; we haven’t heard a peep since?” This realization thrillingly lays the groundwork for the subsequent comedic gears that are turned.

One key reason for why the elements seamlessly co-exist as wonderfully as they do is because of two-time Emmy nominated writer Mark Wilding (Grey’s Anatomy, Charmed, Scandal) who has fleshed out each character with their own distinctive underpinnings and motivations in the wake of the crucible they face without veering too much into the unbelievable. The glances, body language, and one-liners are precisely as side-splitting as they are because these are not caricatures and could in fact be real people who are compelled to re-navigate their relationships and find out if they can “tolerate” each other.

Director Charlie Mount, who is also co-producer alongside Garry Kluger, paces the story beats impeccably so that each development builds on top of the previous one, culminating at the right moments. And, unlike certain productions that might languish between scenes, the audience here is instead left wanting more over 90 minutes — the goal for any show.

The actors, as a function of knowing how their parts contribute to the whole, gel terrifically. For instance, Liv Denevi depicts Dana, an interior decorator, as an obsessive-compulsive Type-A planner who treats her home like a museum. Still, Denevi’s expressions see an intriguing evolution as do Sam Gregory’s who plays Denevi’s onstage sister Sydney and bears a strong resemblance to Scarlett Johansson. Sydney is introduced as the “rebel” sibling and, as one can imagine, her and Dana’s jealous quarreling over how much each might receive as a wedding gift from their parents sets an acrimonious stage, but Denevi and Gregory ensure their portrayals are anything but one-dimensional, instead becoming refined via organic shifts along the plot’s trajectory.

Dana’s fiancé Chad is depicted by the polished Cecil Jennings who convincingly gets across his overly nice and obsequious persona, anxiously darting around in an apron and happy to serve mulled apple cider. In comparison, Sidney’s Lance is the good-looking but dopey boyfriend who blissfully goes with the flow, managing charm by way of ignorance. Dave Kumar, who fills Lance’s boots, gives a terrific performance that significantly furnishes the farce.

Jill Remez’s Maureen and Steve Nevil’s Jerry skillfully personify the dynamics of a long-term, naturally imperfect marriage. Maureen, though she doesn’t turn down a drink, is the rational one who is less suspecting than Jerry who, as a result of having been a lawyer for decades, doesn’t need much evidence before he goes into speculative mode and starts citing research (e.g., “40 percent of murders go unsolved”). Their bickering and the disparate manner each reacts to new information involving the volatile neighbors is unique but always genuine — a credit to Remez and Nevil’s nimble characterizations.

As one-half of the acrimonious Goddamn Couple, Presciliana Esparolini artfully fulfills the charge of suspense that her Lucinda is responsible for throughout the play. The audience has a front-row seat to her indignation vis-à-vis Turk Fruell’s Kenny, and yet also has a clear view of how she might be manipulative. Even as the clues are multiplied, Esparolini’s verbals and non-verbals are suitably indecipherable, keeping observers guessing until the very end.

Last but not least among the performers is John Combs whose Officer Hoyt, a middle-aged rookie cop, is summoned to Dana and Chad’s condo not once but twice. Despite being incompetent at “protecting and serving,” Hoyt becomes a highlight of Act II due to the good-natured verve Combs presents him with.

Certainly, the immersion of the production would feel incomplete without Jeff G. Rack’s detailed set, inclusive of a latticed window and complementary colors, which brilliantly achieves the look of a contemporary apartment. Moreover, David P. Johnson’s lighting is on-point as it duly irradiates the charming, mystery-packed zaniness in the context of the setting.

The holidays are synonymous with tradition — families unite on the same days every year, eating the same foods, reliving the same films, and even attending the same shows which have become dependable box-office draws at a collection of theatres across the Southland and country. Because The Goddamn Couple Down the Hall (Oh… and Merry Christmas) sweepingly appeals to individuals, couples, and families — striking a superb balance between naughty and nice — the festive romp could very well be, and probably should become, a yearly tradition for Theatre West.

Cover image caption: (Left to Right) John Combs, Liv Denevi, Sam Gregory, and Dave Kumar in Theatre West’s The Goddamn Couple Down the Hall (Oh… and Merry Christmas) in Los Angeles, CA. Photo by Charlie Mount

Theatre West’s production of The Goddamn Couple Down the Hall (Oh… and Merry Christmas) plays through Sunday, December 15th. Theatre West is located at 3333 Cahuenga Boulevard West. Los Angeles, CA 90068. For further information and tickets to the play, visit theatrewest.org.