‘Dance’ poorly written, but brilliantly acted

The Interplayers version of Richard Alfieri’s fluffy little comedy, “Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks,” presents a question that all playgoers must ask themselves eventually:

What’s more important to me, the script or the performances?

The question is crucial to understanding how you’ll feel about this show, because the contrast could not be starker. The performances, by Kathie Doyle-Lipe and Joel Richards, are very fine indeed. The story, on the other hand, is impossible to respect.

It’s snide, obvious, crude, manipulative and completely lacking in surprise or originality. Not a single line rings true, unless you consider the following to be spontaneous human banter:

“Well, stick a stogie in your mouth, dress up in drag and call yourself J. Edgar Hoover!”

This play is loaded with sitcom lines like this. Meanwhile, the overall narrative is a painfully obvious variation on a well-worn theme: Two lonely people, seemingly opposites in every way, can grow into unlikely friends.

Or, in this case: Lonely Baptist widow and lonely, snarky gay man can argue, insult, and belittle each other (often obscenely) for most of two hours and still act all heartwarmingly sweet at the end.

Putting aside all of that – and many people will be able to do so more easily than I – this Esta Rosevear-directed production does have its charms. First of all, it is perfectly cast.

Spokane audiences already know what Doyle-Lipe can do with a comic role. Here, as Lily Harrison, she demonstrates all of her gifts for quick wit, well-timed banter and physical comedy. Yet she does all of this while playing a character about 20 years her senior.

As she shuffles across the stage in a bathrobe, you really do believe she’s an elderly, and deeply unhappy, woman. Yet put her in a pair of high-heels, and the woman can really fox trot.

Rosevear could hardly have found a better Michael Minetti than Joel Richards, especially considering that David Hyde Pierce (Niles on “Frasier”) originated this role in L.A. Richards looks and sounds like Hyde Pierce, yet I do not want to imply that he imitated him. Richards created the character in his own acerbic and flippantly cynical way, yet he remained true to the character’s type, as originally conceived. Minetti describes himself as “a passive-aggressive queen with a bad attitude.”

Rosevear contributes some nice directorial touches. Every scene ends with a brief dance lesson – the idea is that Minetti is a dance teacher who comes to Lily’s condo every week – and Rosevear caps each scene with a backlit tableau of the two dancers.

The set, by William Rosevear, is a professional rendition of Modern Florida Condo style, complete with breakfast counter and hardwood floors. Hilary Winkworth’s costumes are right on the money.

So how could I have found most of this show so painful? Well, it’s the kind of play in which a character turns his back on another and says, “Only my ass can you hear you now.”

So, in answering the opening question: To me, the script is key.

I’d much rather see an Arthur Miller play performed a bit weakly than a play like this performed brilliantly. Feel free to differ on this point and enjoy a brightly done production.

Meanwhile, I’m looking forward to the Interplayers’ next show, “The Price.” Arthur Miller wrote it.