Diane and I and a group of our friends went to Desiderio’s Dinner Theater to see Neil Simon’s I Ought to Be in Pictures, a play from 1980.
The play begins with a knock on the door. Steffy Blondell (played by Lisa Hinca) opens the door and finds a 19-year-old girl, Libby Tucker (played by Reagan Zuber). Libby has traveled from New York City to West Hollywood to visit her father, Herb Tucker (David Lundy). Herb walked out on his wife, daughter, and son 16 years ago.
When Herb wakes up from his nap, he’s stunned that his daughter is in his bungalow. Herb has written scripts for movies and TV shows over those 16 years and now Libby–who has decided to be an actress and be in movies–wants her father to get her into the movie business.
While Herb is trying to get his head around this unexpected visit from his daughter, he has to deal with his girlfriend, Steffy, who works as a make-up artist for a major Hollywood studio (she has applied make-up to Meryl Streep’s face–Libby’s favorite actress!). Steffy and Herb have been dating for two years and Steffy, with her two children, wants more from Herb. Herb, of course, thinks things are Perfect.
Neil Simon puts Herb through the wringer as he has to deal with his teenage daughter–who speaks with her dead grandmother daily–and his wonderful girlfriend who is considering “moving on” if Herb can’t commit. On top of all of this, Herb contends with Writer’s Block.
Amid the comic moments in I Ought to Be in Pictures, there are some very moving moments as Herb realizes how much he has missed by being absent from his daughter’s life for 16 years. And, long-suffering Steffy, brought a tear to my eye when she tells Herb they are not getting younger and frivolous sex does not cement a relationship. She’s dating another guy.
I Ought to Be in Pictures is not top-shelf Neil Simon, but it was ideal for the Dinner Theater audience. Plenty of laughs as Herb’s world is turned upside down, some tears as the characters in this play grow closer, and a typical Neil Simon conclusion. Are you a Neil Simon fan? GRADE: B