‘Fish in the Dark’ is half-baked

BROTHERS IN FOUL ‘FISH’: Larry David & Ben Shenkman at their father’s shiva. Photo: FishintheDark.com

FISH IN THE DARK
Written by Larry David
Directed by Anna D. Shapiro
Cort Theatre,138 West 48th Street
(212-239-6200), www.FishInTheDark.com

By David NouNou

No one knows better about writing quirky, irreverently nonsensical comedies about dysfunctional Jewish families than Larry David. All you have to do is watch a couple of episodes of “Seinfeld” or HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and you’ll get the gist. However, not even Mr. David can write a sustained two- hour comedy without it skidding off track and becoming a long-winded, sitcom episode with a lot of needless characters used as fillers to fill the allotted time for a Broadway show. With the advent of dramedies, comedic plays are becoming harder and harder to write. Not even the great and prolific Neil Simon, whose staple of comedies regaled us in the 1960s and 1970s, could write a sustainable comedy or even a successful revival of any of his previous hits unless they were jam-packed with stars. Remember his last revival of The Odd Couple, dreadful but a total sellout due to Nathan Lane, Matthew Broderick, and Brad Garrett in the leads.

As sitcoms tackle every imaginable issue, a comedy about the death of the patriarch of a Jewish family, set in a hospital ward with all the stereotypical family members waiting in attendance to claim the spoils, is nothing new. If you are familiar with Mr. David’s works, it usually means it brings out the worst in people; grieving becomes secondary, avarice, greed, lust, shirking responsibilities, and screaming at each other take center stage. So it is with Fish in the Dark. Mr. David aims to please, but the end product is an unsatisfying half-baked comedy. Not even such a superior director as Anna D. Shapiro (August: Osage County, Of Mice and Men, and last fall’s This Is Our Youth) can override Mr. David or his clichéd script.

As the constantly competitive and bickering brothers, the older, Norman Drexel (Larry David) and the younger, Arthur Drexel (Ben Shenkman); two people you wouldn’t want in your life in a moment of crisis, for neither one possesses a modicum of conscience, are awaiting the arrival of their mother and the rest of the family members and arguing in a hospital waiting area. They are there weighing the pros and cons of whether it is worth putting their dying father on a respirator and bickering about their father’s last dying wish on who would take care of their mother after he is gone. Needless to say, neither brother wants that responsibility. The rest of the crucial characters are Brenda Drexel (Rita Wilson), Norman’s wife; Gloria Drexel (Jayne Houdyshell), Norman and Arthur’s mother; Fabiana Melendez (Rosie Perez), Norman’s housekeeper; and Diego Melendez (Jake Cannavale), her son. The other 12 characters are negligible and unnecessary but represent stock sitcom characters usually found in television comedies but in general are rendered useless characters in a tightly written, budget-conscious Broadway show.

If you’ve ever seen Larry David, then you know the character he is portraying; no need to go into character analysis, he is Larry David and the cause célèbre of this shows huge advance sale. Ben Shenkman as the younger brother Arthur, is perfect as the self-absorbed, egotistical, competitive schmuck. Rita Wilson, besides being Tom Hanks’ wife, is also a talented actress; alas, she is wasted as the nagging, shrewish wife. Jayne Houdyshell plays the usual put-upon mother and widow. Rosie Perez in another nasally whining Rosie Perez characterization; and as Diego, her son, Jake Cannavale holds his own against these Broadway veterans, and yes, he does his father Bobby proud.

Last fall’s hot ticket was the star-studded, unfunny name-dropping Terrence McNally comedy It’s Only A Play; this spring’s hot ticket is Larry David’s Fish in the Dark. I’ll say this much for it; it does tap into a new audience share that would not be usually going to the theatre. At the preview performance I attended, there were lots of shouts of “We love you, Larry” hurling down from the balcony.

HUSBAND & WIFE: Larry David & Rita Wilson in ‘Fish in the Dark.’ Photo: FishintheDark.com