Strong cast, witty dialogue keep 'Love Song' in tune

Posted February 16, 2010 10:00 pm

By Jack Helbig

As love songs go, John Kolvenbach's "Love Song" - currently running at the Buffalo Theatre Ensemble at the College of DuPage - is a very odd one indeed. But, at times, it is also a very entertaining one.

Actually, "Love Song" is an eccentric romantic comedy about a man who lives in a bare apartment and his sister who lives only slightly better in a nice, well-appointed house.

Both have problems with love.

Beane (William "Sandy" Smillie) has no one in his life. His sister Joan is married to Harry, but their relationship has gone a little stale. They spend much of their time bickering about her work in some unnamed, but we assume glamorous, industry. Things are not going well at work, either; Joan keeps hiring and firing incompetent interns.

Into this world steps Molly, who first breaks into Beane's bare apartment and then returns - she doesn't know why - to fall in love with him. The twist is improbable but all the more delicious for being so.

At least it seems delicious in Buffalo Theatre Ensemble's nicely cast and polished production. Directed by Bryan Burke, the story unfolds at a wonderful pace. The play contains more than a few twists (none of which I will disclose; you will want to find them out for yourself).

Kolvenbach, respected within theater circles but not yet a household name, has a gift for writing terse, witty dialogue. Thus, "Love Song," which premiered at Steppenwolf in 2006, has more than its share of dryly funny lines.

Of course a play with only four characters - especially one as rich as Kolvenbach's - better have a tight cast. And Burke has found actors who know how to deliver comic lines without killing the underlying romance.

Kelli Walker and William Green have a particularly strong comic chemistry as Joan and Harry. Every time they step on stage the energy level in the play rises. Watching these two spar - and later fall back in love - is a delight.

And as the lonely, isolated Beane. Smillie negotiates his character's transformation from a sad-sack loser to a life-filled lover with grace and power. He and Cortney McKenna, who plays the object of his affections, have chemistry almost as strong as that between Walker and Green.

At times the play seems as light as a love song, but as the story progresses we learn things are not what they seem. And the romance that unfolds has far-reaching implications for the characters in the story - and for anyone who seeks to understand what we really mean when we talk about love.

In the end, this is truly a play - and a production - for both the heart and head.

The slightly unstable and love-struck Beane (William "Sandy" Smillie) confronts his sister, Joan (Kelli Walker, standing), and her husband, Harry (William Green) in Buffalo Theatre Ensemble's "Love Song."

"Love Song"

★ ★ ★ ★

Location: McAninch Arts Center at College of DuPage, 425 Fawell Blvd., Glen Ellyn, (630) 942-4000 or <a href="http://www.atthemac.org" target="new">www.atthemac.org</a>

Showtimes: 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday; through Feb. 28

Running time: About 90 minutes with an intermission

Tickets: $23-$33

Parking: Free lots

Rating: For adults

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