Chandler-Gilbert Community College's "Play it Agin, Sam": A Review

I watched Play It Again, Sam at Chandler-Gilbert Community College. It was written in 1972 by Woody Allen, who starred in the film version. It is a romantic comedy set in the '60s about a man who is looking for a new girlfriend after being dumped by his wife.

The set was very good; like a real living room, rather than just a sofa, a coffee-table, etc. It was good that they had several entrances and exits, and the actors made good use of the set. At the very beginning of the first scene, Allen is sitting in his chair watching The Maltese Falcon on TV. Later on, Linda is straightening up Allen's apartment. Allen's poor lamp was broken at least twice, and it gave an overall feel of a "real" building.

The costumes were very good, and fit the characters. Allen wore a green sweater, which besides being a bit ugly also helps us to see that all he ever does is sit around at home. Dick had a business suit, which was very fitting, considering his character is a businessman, and always on the verge of some deal or other.

The music before the show, and during intermission, was great. Amazing songs from the 60s; this not only puts us in the correct era, but also just sound good!

There were times when the characters seemed a bit flat, like they were just delivering lines rather than actually talking. After Allen and Linda's affair, Linda is talking about Allen and Dick; but it didn't feel right, somehow. She didn't have enough emotion.

I think that Nancy and Allen both did good jobs. Allen kept his character throughout the entire play, and Nancy was very snooty when she needed to be. I would have to say that Linda was one of the worse actresses, mainly for the reason mentioned earlier, but, granted, that would be a hard scene to pull off. Bogart, as well, did not strike me as particularly "Bogart-y," although he had the posture and movements down well.

I liked the scenes when Allen is acting stupid in front of dates; I thought they were funny, and handled well. There's one scene where he's reading off the back of a record jacket to try to impress a girl, another where he says that his wife is dead, another where he knocks over the table, and yet another where he makes a fool of himself, talking about cameras; they were all very nice.

I liked the play well enough; it certainly had a lot of humor in it, but there were also spells of dry, boring dialogue; almost like a drama rather than a comedy. I liked Allen and Dick's conversation about Linda having an affair, and thought that Dick did a pretty good job at staying serious but also letting the humor show. Bogart's scene, where he takes the gun from Linda, was also hilarious. I think that a few lines could have been omitted to move it along better, but I'm not too worried about that. Overall it was a pretty good show.