In 1928, Philip Barry's society drama, Holiday, debuted on Broadway. Ten years later it became a Hollywood success in a production starring a couple of kids named Grant and Hepburn. Stage revivals of the show have been scattered across the country over the past few decades. It gets dusted off for yet another stage production this month at the Sunset Playhouse in Elm Grove.
Tom Dillon struggles a bit as Johnny Case, a young man who has met and fallen in love with Julia Seton, a striking young woman born into wealth played with cold poise by Jacqueline K. Gosz. Case and Seton intend to announce their plans to marry to Seton's wealthy family. Julia's siblings have a fondness for Johnny. Ned (a charming Mark Neufang) is an alcoholic professional working for the family business who was once helped by Johnny. Linda (Jenny Kosek) wants desperately to get out of the drudgery of high society and is excited by Johnny's outsider status, not having grown-up into wealth.
With so much acceptance, Case and Seton's hope for her family's consent seems almost assured, but it just wouldn't be an early twentieth century social drama if everything went smoothly. Approval for Johnny and Julia's marriage rests squarely on the shoulders of Edward Seton: a frugal businessman who handles his first meeting with Case like it was a job interview. With the rest of the Seton family supporting him, Johnny perseveres, but other pressures call everything into question, as Johnny discovers that the price of his stock has grown to a point where he may not need to work again for a very long time.
Success in business finds Johnny at odds with Julia's ambition and Edward's desire for her to marry a respectable man. Johnny would prefer to existentially find himself and his purpose outside the business world, pushing him closer to Linda and Ned and further away from the rest of the immediate family.
The big conflict here is between the desire to get ahead and the desire to find meaning beyond the material world, which playwright Philip Barry rendered remarkably well in the script. It is interesting to note that the play Is set in 1928, when it debuted on Broadway, right before the dawn of the Great Depression when the economy collapsed. Ultimately, Johnny's decision to sell his hot stock while it was worth a fortune wasn't that bad an idea. Johnny would've gotten out of the stock market at just the right time, oddly enough. This puts a strange spin on the story, which was oddly visionary in its own way.
The Sunset Playhouse's production isn't that bad. Production values were perhaps the most impressive part of the whole show. Lush costuming by Costume Coordinators Pat Boeck and Betty Nordengren paint the stage adorned with a jaw-dropping set by J. Michael Desper. The set is exquisitely detailed and expertly designed. Sunset Playhouse can be forgiven for showing-off the set change between the second and third scenes, as it really IS impressive and effortlessly shows how the sets fit together.
Production aside, the quality of the performances vary a great deal. Some performances are completely flat while others have great emotional depth. Tom Dillon's performance as Johnny Case hits a great many marks with a great degree of insight, but one can't help but feel that he's still searching for the character in many places. Jenny Kosek plays the restless Linda Seton with a touching degree of humanity that may be worth the price of admission all by itself.
The Sunset Playhouse's production of Holiday plays now through December 31 in Elm Grove. Tickets are $16 ($20 on closing night) and can be purchased by calling the box office at (262) 782-4430.
