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Love Struck
((Zeitgeist Theatre; 48 seats; $ 15 top) The Zeitgeist Theatre Co. presents a play in two acts written and directed by Marion Gallo. Exec producer, Joy Thorbourn; associate producer, Alexandra Weisbrod; set design, Sidney Wickersham, Don Rodenback; lightin)
Or, when she asks Vinnie to let her handle the hoodlums, she says, "I understand these people. I did catechism with John Gotti."
But if Gallo has the punch lines, they're perfectly accompanied by Gallucci's over-the-top reactions.
And just when it looks like the banter between these two is getting old, along come the tense Mafia brothers Louie and Paulie (both played by Kenneth Lloyd Bowers).
Louie, suffering from too much "stress and salami," bows out early from a heart attack. Soon brother Paulie and his henchmen Petey and Carlie (Bob Sutton, Edward Carnevale), come for the money Vinnie owes. When they discover Louie passed on, they want retribution. What will Vinnie and Tina do?
Sutton and Carnevale play mob hit men so wound up that in one scene, a description of many ways to torture or rearrange a face becomes a hilarious monologue.
When it looks as if the audience knows where the story is going, or at least what kind of comedy to expect, they get thrown a curve with the introduction of Phyliss. Suddenly the tough guy with the two henchmen is putty in her hands.
Phyliss is brought bewitchingly to life by Rose Marie Johnson, an actress with a gift for mimicry.
And things really get interesting when Tina's husband, Carmine (Gerry Del Sol), and his other woman, Marie Osmond (Jill Jacobson), show up at the agency. Marie is no rocket scientist ("I'm the Marie that sings off-key. She's Mormon and I'm a moron") but she loves Carmine. She is also Tina's best friend.
Gallo's writing and direction make "Love Struck" almost a sleeper comedy because it builds so slowly.
At times it's difficult to figure out if certain situations are funny because they're corny or so corny it's funny.
Sidney Wickersham's dingy office and elevator are further given that office feel by Michael Schroffel's fluorescent-like lighting.
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