The Coaster

NAKED BY THE RIVER, LOVE VS. THE CORPORATE WORLD

By Robert F. Carroll

 

Michael Folie, a prolific young playwright, a native of Middletown Township and something of an old hand at the New Jersey Repertory Company in Long Branch, appears to have a winner with his latest romantic comedy, "Naked By the River." Folie's "An Unhappy Woman" premiered at New Jersey Rep in February.

 

The new two-acter, which opened at the Lumia Theatre in Long Branch last Friday, pits a headstrong young writer against and ambitious young lady lawyer as they grope their way to a romantic attachment.

 

In the play, paralegal Tim (Duncan M. Rogers) shows up at a Manhattan law office staffed by Peggy (Stephanie Roy). He's primed for a fight, having screwed up his former job at a Cincinnati law firm. The reason: he's written a book the product of a personal epiphany that changed his life. Peggy, in a smart, smart-alecky exchange of dialogue, is gradually drawn to the cantankerous young man, attracted by both his idealism and his book which, after a quick read, she finds enthralling.

 

But the road to true love gets exceedingly rocky in Act Two. Peggy discovers she really likes her law career and really wants Tim to market his book. But the true artist in him rebels at publishing his life's work -- he doesn't even want anybody to read it -- and it takes every bit of her feminine guile to get him on board the corporate express. Once convinced, Tim, alas, turns into a hard-nosed, slick-haired, money-grubbing salesman.

 

It would be scurrilous to reveal how true love gets back on track, suffice to say that Peggy's one lapse into impropriety -- she once had her picture taken nude, by a river -- provides the key.

 

Rogers is a vigorously engaging Tim, always in charge until Peggy brings him to heel. And Roy, as Peggy, is a charmer, especially when she drops her office cool and warms to Tim. Liz Zazzi makes a hilarious publicist who informs Tim that what he's written is, God forbid, a sure-fire sales manual -- and he's be a fool not to cash in on it. Zazzi is a funny, funny woman, using a wit that's been honed by any number of cabaret and television appearances.

 

Stewart Fisher directed "Naked By the River" which runs Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. through November 18th Long Branch's Lumia Theatre, on Broadway.