Bobbi Boland

Poor Bobbi Boland. Left behind in the wake of the tumultuous sixties, she just doesn't get it. She's caught in a time warp, and she can't get out. She clings desperately to her past, symbolized by the rhinestone tiara resting on a shelf in her living room etagere. It represents the high point of her life -- when she was crowned Miss Florida 20 years ago. As the play opens, we find Bobbi giving lessons on social graces to a young girl who lives down the street. Bobbi (played by playwright Nancy Hasty) is elegantly attired in a ball gown, with long gloves and an upswept hairdo. She doesn't walk; she glides and pivots. Soon her world is shattered by the arrival of her husband's middle-aged boss (David Little). He has been invited to cocktails with his wife, but shows up instead with a much younger replacement, Kim (Tanya Clarke). She's a 20 year old who finds more in common with the young neighborhood girl than her new husband and his friends.

Although Bobbi's husband, Roger (Gregg Henry), is initially surprised by the introduction of a trophy wife, he becomes increasingly attracted to this free-spirited young woman. Bobbi senses this, and enlists support from her closest friend, the gay director of the local community theater (Byron Loyd). Although Bobbi Boland rarely rises above its sitcom solutions to the play's dilemmas, it is engaging and has a certain retro appeal for Baby Boomer audiences. The play has several genuinely funny scenes, including Nancy's retelling of how she won the beauty queen pageant. All is not sugarcoated, however. The playwright deserves credit for writing an ending that is frankly realistic. She also deserves high marks for creating a strong older woman character (these are few and far between).

The cast takes the show to a higher level than it will probably ever have in the scores of community theater productions that will follow. Nancy Hasty excels as Bobbi, the faded beauty queen who can't cut it in the sixties. Gregg Henry displays a rugged charm as Bobbi's hen-pecked husband. Byron Loyd admirably navigates the role of the gay director. Loyd gives the character sensitivity without sliding into stereotypes. Tanya Clarke excels as Kim. Her attitude is hip but unknowing; she is blissfully ignorant of the killer looks that Bobbi sends her way. Holiday Segal is impressive as Susan, the young girl who convincingly shifts her allegiance from Bobbi to Kim.

Production values are solid, and mention must be made of set designer John Farrell's sunken living room, which is perfect in every detail, and sound designer Cynthia Tuohy's selection of hit tunes from the sixties.