'Just Lovely' A Light Hearted Romp
Article by Nathalie Plotkin

Deborah Curtis, Suzanne Gardner Nielson

Rob Foster's new play "Just Lovely" is making its world premiere in Carmel's Cherry Hall, and is leading off the 2006 theatre season with a light hearted, madcap, anti-romantic romp.
_The premise of this excursion into the finding of a mate, in this case via an online dating service, is that you should be careful about whom you wish for.
_Director Foster is indeed fortunate in his protagonists. They respond to the off-the-wall characterizations he requires with verve and polish. The pace is snappy and sparkling, though somewhat hampered by over-long set changes.
_Still, Carey Crockett's and Dania King's set design is so attractive and fits the story so well, that the director might want to consider leaving the curtain partially open between set changes. That way, the audience can see and appreciate the expertise of the stage crew as they do their work.
As the young couple who think they need help finding a mate and resort to the modern version of a blind date, Deborah Curtis and Alec Head are very convincing in carrying out the author's intentionally irrational plotline.
_Curtis is outstanding as a personality disorganized and psychotic whose mental and emotional state is frequently and comedically unbalanced and out of control, but her appearance and high-flying wit make it hard to believe that she needs help finding a lover.
_Foster created a very difficult role for Curtis and her achievement in carrying it out was sometimes uncomfortable to watch in its excellence.
_Alec Head, as the young man matched to her by the dating service, is an ideal foil for Curtis.
_His reactions to this highly neurotic and thorny yet mesmerizing woman were very much in keeping with his character. He projects exasperation and an attempt to keep his cool expertly, and evokes sympathy along the way.
_Suzanne Gardner-Nielson and Fred Nielson are the cupid-minded older couple who want to further the romance of Curtis and Head and are a delight to watch in their muddle-headed, yet warmhearted, attempts.
_Jody Gilmore is the very special character who opens and closes the play in the role of the waiter in a French restaurant where the lovelorn couple meet for the first time, and later say goodbye. Gilmore once again shows his creative versatility by his absolute command of the hilariously oily and leering wolf who would love to get friendly with Curtis.
_"Just Lovely" pretty much fulfills Foster's intention of finding humor in the battle of the sexes as they look for happiness.
_Some fine tuning would seem to be in order to add to the validity of the premise, but this show is light-hearted entertainment and we all need to laugh occasionally without worrying about the realities of life and love.

Inset Photos: Fred Nielson; Alec Head & Deborah Curtis; right: Jody Gilmore

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"Curtis is outstanding... a difficult role that was sometimes difficult to watch in its excellence."

"Suzanne Gardner-Nielson and Fred Nielson are the cupid-minded older couple who want to further the romance of Curtis and Head and are a delight to watch in their muddle-headed, yet warmhearted, attempts"

- Nathalie Plotkin

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