Classic Comedy, But Hard to Relate

The Sherman Players go to impressive lengths to revive another old chestnut, “Life With Father,” which is said to be the longest-running non-musical in Broadway history, as well as the basis of a 1947 movie and a 1950s TV series. That they don’t entirely succeed has less to do with their efforts than it does with the difficulty of relating to the material, a supposedly comical memoir by Clarence Day Jr. of growing up in late-19th-century New York City with a dominating father.

I can relate, to a point. My grandfather was irascible — indeed, downright tyrannical. Like Clarence “Clare” Day Sr., though of a later generation, he was a wealthy, self-made businessman who could make a public scene and bring anyone near him to tears. Except nothing about him was funny.

Not to get into the weeds of my own saga, but for me, watching Clare (Steve Manzino) ranting across the stage uttering “damnations,” erupting over every penny spent by his underlings, including his long-suffering wife, Vinnie (Stacy-Lee Frome), and their four male children, repeating his mantra that “a household has to be run like a business” … well, let’s just say I had a hard time understanding why Vinnie didn’t slap him and move out, even if it was 1890-something.

In fact, she has to have a near-death experience in order to get him to do the one thing for her that she wants most of all, which is to be baptized. And even then he tries to snake his way out until the end.

Through all of this, you can make out the outlines of classic comedy, from “The Honeymooners” through Lucy and Desi and beyond. In her own way, Vinnie is supposed to stand up to Clare, like Alice could skewer Ralph in between trips to the moon. Or perhaps Rex Harrison’s Henry Higgins from “My Fair Lady” is a more apt comparison. Of course, I could never understand why Eliza moves back in with him, either, although, like Vinnie, she ultimately gets to enjoy the creature comforts of the wealthy.

Manzino goes all out and delivers a crisp performance, but he plays Clare as too high strung to be seen as a lovable buffoon. Frome appears anxious and hesitant, especially in the early scenes.

Meanwhile, the eldest son (standing in for Clarence Jr., the author, and well-played by Tim Vlangas) has to step out of his father’s clothes, literally, to find love with a visiting acquaintance, Mary Spencer (played with gusto by Phair Elizabeth). The biggest laughs of the night come from the spooky effects of him wearing his father’s old suit.

Robin Frome’s directing is a little shaky, especially the show’s tentative start, but getting past opening-night jitters and stiffness will bring this production up several notches. Comedy works best when, as the sports stars say, you let the game come to you.