Funny Femmes Fatale Fan Flames at Firehouse

Jack Welsh and I had a rollicking good time this afternoon seeing our friends Melissa Johnston Price, Harriet Traylor, John Moon and Alice Schreiner acting up a (psychological) storm in The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife at the Firehouse.

About three seasons back, this raucous and ribald script from veteran Off-Broadway bard Charles Busch updated the Neil Simon style of comedy for 21st Century Broadway. Busch enlivened his comic urban phantasmagoria with contemporary situations and language that ran the risk of making the more traditional Mr. Simon blush. The play had a long and successful Broadway run.

Now Firehouse’s talented, attractive cast, under the direction of Dan Ruth, looks like they think it's a high hoot to bring this very-Manhattan tale to life in Richmond’s Fan.

Melissa Johnston Price proves once again that she can be gorgeous and funny at the same time. Harriet Traylor develops a character that is both irresistibly seductive and slightly scary--a femme fatale with a not quite fatal attraction. John Moon brings his years as a New Yorker back to the forefront as the titular allergist, proving an able match for both beautiful women. Alice Schreiner prompts one to recall the words “potty mouth.” Joey Chahine, new to me, is terrific as the fifth cog in Busch’s oh-so-modern take on one New Yorker’s search for inner truth.

Three cheers to the Firehouse for giving Richmonders a chance to catch this hip NYC comedy. Broadway laugh-leaders have changed a lot since the classic days of Neil Simon, Mary Kerr, Muriel Resnick, Bob Randall et al. It’s good for Richmonders to have a chance to feel the force of the most recent comic haymaker to knock Broadway off its feet.

If you hanker for contemporary comedy with an edgy twist, rush to the Firehouse to catch Allergist’s Wife before it closes on May 19. As always, the Firehouse is proving how indispensable it is in Metro Richmond’s theatrical mix.

Bruce Miller