[NoHo Arts District, CA] – A NoHo Arts theatre review of Art Shulman’s comedy Act Your Age, directed by Stan Mazin at Two Road Theatre.
Act Your Age is a searingly honest look at aging, rejecting that fact altogether and having to face the reality that you just might not be able to slam dunk anymore!
The story revolves around Jake, a retired businessman who is really struggling to face his age. Every Sunday for the past 25 years, Jake has played basketball with a group of friends, and over the years the original members have either died or accepted their bodies’ inevitable decline gracefully. Not Jake, though. Through injuries and falls, missed baskets and passes, and the growing frustrations of his teammates, he has stubbornly rejected reality and ignored the obvious.
Eventually, his son-in-law, who Jake introduced to the group a couple of years ago, is the one nominated by the rest to tell Jake he is not welcome anymore. Ouch. Facing his limitations is painful enough for Jake, but when his daughter announces he is to be a grandfather, he goes off the rails entirely. A decrepit granddad is not the role Jake embraces, and he can’t see past his own narcissistic tendencies, to the general disappointment of everyone in his life and the disgust of his lovely and very patient wife.
Act Your Age is a hilarious and brutally honest examination of one man’s struggle against becoming old.
Baseball caps worn backward and all, Jake just can’t believe he’s old. I can relate entirely!! But with age comes a certain relief. No more competing your way to the top. No more tight pants and, for me at least, high heels. In the past year or so, I have embraced my age and found it to be a lot of fun. Jake has to come to that realization on his own, as we all do, and the journey he takes in Act Your Age is as funny and real as anything else I have seen.
The writer Art Shulman is a prolific and successful playwright and also holds a Ph.D. in psychology and was a professor at Cal State Northridge for 20 years. So clearly he knows what he’s talking about!!
With gentle direction by Stan Mazin and brilliant performances by the entire cast, Act Your Age is a really wonderful play and well worth your time! Bravo!
Tickets:
https://www.onstage411.com/newsite/show/play_info.asp?show_id=8201
Where:
Two Road Theatre
4348 Tujunga Ave
When:
May 29-June 21
Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m., Sundays at 3:00 p.m.
The Cast
The cast of Act Your Age! includes Ezra Black (Ward, American Detective), Brittney DeLeon (Twelfth Night, The Taming of the Shrew), Jillian McWhirter (Progeny, L.A. Heat), and Morry Schorr (Bias, The Marriage Zone).