The Gloves Come Off in The Long Weekend At Pigs Do Fly

By Britin Haller

What happens when one unhappily married couple invites another unhappily married couple to spend a holiday weekend with them in their country home? Certainly not what they’re expecting, because as the claws come out, then long-buried resentments resurface, and dirty little secrets are exposed.

Ellen Wacher founded Pigs Do Fly Productions with a goal to prove that older people are still relevant, andThe Long Weekend, by Norm Foster, fills that bill. This is the theatrical company’s third play in a row from Foster, the playwright known as the Canadian Neil Simon, and each one has been a success.

 The New Comedy time period (325–260 BC) of Classical Greece gave us a genre known as a ‘comedy of manners’ in that it is known for its artificial, hypocritical characters who are often obsessed with their wealth, social standing, and sex. The Long Weekend is billed as a comedy of manners, and to an extent, it is, although there is no real social commentary to be garnered from it. Though less common in American television, series such as Frasier and The Nanny are considered comedies of manners.

 Max and Wynn Trueman are awaiting the arrival of their friends, Roger and Abby Nash, to their new summer house. Friends being the debatable word, as it’s clear from the start there is no love lost between the four of them. Through a clever set-up, we learn their backstories up front, including the fact that Max still owes Roger $23 for an old bar bill. Max has forgotten his promise to pay it back, but Roger certainly has not, and suffice it to say no one cn hold a grudge like Roger Nash.

Why they agreed to this get-together in the first place is a question, because they all pretty much hate each other. “This weekend is going to make a colonoscopy seem like a lighthearted treasure hunt,” says Max.

But here we are.

Michael Coppola in his South Florida professional debut plays Max, the pompous, fussy law partner who wears sweaters tied around his neck and neatly pressed trousers around his own home. God forbid you forget to use a coaster around this guy. Even though his role is completely unlikable, somehow Coppola manages to appear almost human at times. That’s a compliment.

 Janice Hamilton is Max’s wife, Wynn, the fashionista psychologist whose self-help book on finding the right domestic partner is about to be published. Ironic since her own marriage is such a mess, and she and Max haven’t had sex in almost two months, despite her begging for it. Hamilton is appropriately superior in her attitude as the desperate spouse quick to psychoanalyze others when it’s Wynn who should be seeking help on a therapist’s couch.

From the onset, Roger’s wife Abby appears to be long-suffering, but we quickly learn she is no angel. An interior-design store owner, Abby takes great joy in finding fault in others, especially her supposed best friend, Wynn, whom she met in college. Carbonell favorite Karen Stephens does a fine job portraying an unsympathetic woman who can only have intimate relations in front of her stuffed animals.

Alan Goodman

And last, but certainly not least, as the crowd favorite who gets the best lines, Alan Goodman is Roger, the lovable curmudgeon. Roger was a math teacher, but is now a wannabe screenwriter who once had writer’s block for three months just looking for the right word. The poor guy has no control of anything going on around him, and his situation is made all the more exasperating after his camera is stolen from his car that should have been parked close to the house, only Max never bothered to put in a driveway.

Roger is put through the spin cycle again and again, so much so it’s no wonder he whines. “Nobody move,” Roger says at one point. “My genitals just fell off, and I don’t want them stepped on.” Alan Goodman is a former network TV executive who, to our delight, has returned to the world of acting after a long pause. Please don’t ever leave us again.

Director Christopher Michaels had his hands full with four of the most messed-up passive aggressive characters to ever grace the same small arena. Michaels’s choice to incorporate a sitcom element is clever and appreciated.

Larry Buzzeo, Ardean Landhuis, David Hart, Preston Bircher, and Saul Mendoza bring their own talents in their respective areas of stage management, set design, sound, lighting, and costumes. Buzzeo, working the boards in close proximity to the audience, adds to the TV show feel.

Don’t expect a happily-ever-after ending here; rather the best we can hope for is they all don’t end up in a mutual bloodbath. Nobody learns to be a better person, or appeases their guilty conscience, because they don’t have one.

In the end, questions remain. Does Max ever build a driveway? Can Abby be okay having sex without her teddy bear? Will Wynn ever seek therapy for herself? And most importantly, will Roger ever get his $23 back?

 While none of the four shallow people in The Long Weekend are anyone you’d want to be friends with for any lengthy period of time, for an evening of hilarity and fun, you’ll definitely want to hang out with them. Arrive early to get enjoy clips from treasured comedy of manners 1990s’s TV favorites like Frasier and The Nanny.

 Britin Haller is a mystery author and an editor for Turner Publishing. Her latest short story “So Many Shores in Crookland” can be read in the 150^th issue of Black Cat Weekly. Britin’s latest edit, a cozy mystery novel called Dumpster Dying is by Michelle Bennington and available where books are sold. Find Britin across social media.

 The Long Weekend from Pigs Do Fly Productions plays through November 24th at Empire Stage, 1140 N. Flagler Drive, Ft. Lauderdale (two blocks north of Sunrise, east of the railroad tracks); 8 p.m. Fridays; 5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. Running time approx. 100 minutes with a 10-minute intermission. Tickets $45, or mention the code LOVE for $6 off. Call 954-678-1496, or visit pigsdoflyproductions.com.  

Michael Coppola, Janice Hamilton, Karen Stephens, & Alan Goodman