For its first theater production, the brand-new Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts has made an off-beat but pleasing choice, Parfumerie. Written back in the 1930s by Hungarian playwright Miklos Laszlo, Parfumeriewas not only a success in Europe but spawned several Hollywood film adaptations: "The Shop Around the Corner," "In the Good Old Summertime" and "You've Got Mail." Let's not forget, either, the Broadway musical, "She Loves Me."
Now Laszlo's American nephew, E.P. Dowdall, has given his uncle's play a fresh rendering, the result of which has led to productions in Sarasota, Toronto and now, Beverly Hills.
Set at Christmastime in an elegant Budapest toiletries shop, the three-act play mostly deals with two quarrelsome co-workers who don't realize they are pen pals. But there also is a strong subplot involving the shopowner, Miklos Hammerschmidt (Richard Schiff), who learns that his wife is having an affair with one of his employees, Steven Kadar (Matt Walton). Poor Miklos takes the news hard, not only lashing out at those around him but attempting to commit suicide at the end of Act One.
Dowdall tries to lighten the play's dark mood by giving emphasis to the pen pals in the next two acts. After the big reveal involving the love letters they've been anonymously mailing each other, these two sworn enemies must overcome their prejudices -- comedically, of course -- and come to a new, sweetly romantic understanding that makes for a predictable but enjoyable outcome.
Parfumerie works well in the 500-seat, state-of-the-art Bram Goldsmith Theater. Its understated elegance, excellent acoustics and warm ambience enhance the play's charm; the same can be said for Allen Moyer's sumptuous set and Michael Krass' old-worldly costumes. The handsome production has been expertly directed by Mark Brokaw, no mean feat considering that Parfumerie calls for a 15-person cast, many of whom are on stage at the same time (in a tizzy of holiday shopping).
The actors also deserve a great deal of credit, especially Schiff, Deborah Ann Woll and Eddie Kaye Thomas (as the lovers), Arye Gross as an obsequious but Machiavellian clerk, and Jacob Kemp as an over-eager errand boy.
