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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Christmas comedy delivers laughs

“Together Again for the First Time” doesn’t exactly have mass name recognition, since this is the first professional production of this original comedy by local actor-playwright Reed McColm.

Yet the play arrives fully capable of carrying Interplayers through the Christmas season, with a funny, well-written and sometimes poignant portrayal of a real family Christmas gathering.

By real, I mean the kind where the college and high school children are sarcastic, over-dramatic and annoying. The parents are by turns autocratic and clueless. It borders on being just another insult-humor sitcom, but is saved from that fate by characters who develop and grow, and by an ending that is sweet and conciliatory.

The true strength of McColm’s script is its quick delivery of rapid-fire one-liners, which come zinging in from all corners of the stage. These are not exactly jokes, in the sense of gags or punch lines. They are more like quick, smart observations that require the audience to stay alert.

For instance, when one character says she “wants to be alone,” another character snaps back with, “OK, Greta. Try Sweden.” You have to remember the great Garbo line to get that joke, but even if you don’t, someone else will rattle off another barb in two seconds.

The scenario is ridiculously simple. A blended family has gathered in snowy Spokane for a Christmas gathering. Audrey, a mother of two sons from a previous marriage, is now married to Max, the father of three daughters from a previous marriage. They all show up with various girlfriends and fiancés and proceed to get along spectacularly badly.

In fact, most of the first act is a series of fights between siblings and step-siblings, including one all-out wrestling match.

Director Jack Bannon effectively turns this chaos into laugh-out-loud comedy, as the main personalities begin to emerge: The bitter Roger (played to snide perfection by Thomas Stewart); the peacemaking Chinelle (played with sweet charm by Christine Cresswell); the happy, lovable Jason (played with good cheer by Jimmy Pendleton); and the perpetually aggrieved Sandra (played with perfect wounded entitlement by Bethany Hart).

Sometimes, everyone in the family seems to be carrying on unrelated conversations at once – just as in a real family gathering. The audience laughter on Saturday night wasn’t of the polite variety; it was explosive and spontaneous.

“Together Again for the First Time” has been produced dozens of times by amateur and student groups, but this is the first time playwright McColm has played a role. He plays the father, Max, and he brings to the role his usual talent for the droll, well-timed Jack Benny take. I will say Max doesn’t seem quite as fearsome as the script makes him out to be.

In the second act, McColm introduces some surprises: A couple of characters turn out to be far different than we thought. By family-drama standards, this is relatively tame stuff – no abuse or incest, thank goodness – yet it is sufficient to lend the evening some weight. We leave the theater having had some cathartic (to borrow a word from the play) laughs and also having had some insights into an interesting, if borderline dysfunctional, family.

Even though this is the professional debut of the play, it has already been turned into a low-budget movie, just released on DVD and to be aired in December by the Lifetime channel. David Ogden Stiers (“M*A*S*H”) and Julia Duffy (“Newhart”) are the stars.

I can’t vouch for the movie version, which has a somewhat altered script. But the Interplayers version has plenty to recommend it: mainly, laughs born out of truth.

“Together Again for the First Time” continues through Dec. 6. Call (509) 455-PLAY.