To cut or not to cut. That is the question facing Marshall and his shiksa spouse when pregnant-with-twins Julie Ann learns that the postpartum shindig her Jewish mother-in-law’s got planned will involve not just cocktails but a bit of infant cock-snipping. No wonder Stan Zimmerman and Christian McLaughlin have titled their entertaining, unexpectedly touching 80-minute stage sitcom Knife To The Heart.

A buyer for his Dallas-transplanted parents’ successful chain of health food stores, Marshall (Josh Zuckerman) hit the marital jackpot when he wed blonde, beautiful Texas high school teacher Julie Ann (Andrea Bowen).

 Not only that, but with older brother Ben married to the disappointing Susan, mom Rhonda (Anne DeSalvo) can at last rejoice in the impending births of her first grandbabies (no matter that Ben and “Lazy Susan” already have three “etiquette-free rugrats” of their own), and since no one is better at advanced interrogation techniques than Rhonda, it’s perhaps no wonder Julie Ann’s gynecologist’s nurse spilled the ultrasound beans and gave grandma a reason to show up with a pair of “It’s A Boy!” balloons.

 Anyone other than Julie Ann might have a cow at her mother-in-law’s impertinence, but with her own mom serving a 10-year sentence for assault with a deadly weapon, it’s no wonder Julie Ann puts up with Marshall’s controlling mother better than hubby does, that is until her sassy gay coworker (Todd Sherry as high school drama teacher Deacon) reveals just what kind of afternoon wingding Rhonda’s got planned and suddenly the idea of inviting a few hundred friends and family over for afternoon drinks doesn’t seem so inviting after all.

Co-writers Zimmerman (who directs with pizzazz) and McLaughlin are experts at sitcom setup-and-punch. (When Marshall calls sister-in-law Susan “a very pretty girl,” Rhonda snaps back with “Pretty like Dustin Hoffman in Tootsie.”) Not only that, but they’ve assembled a cast more than capable of nailing intended laughs, beginning with Desperate Housewives vet Bowen’s lovely, perky Julie Ann, and no one does gay-and-fabulous more gay-fabulously than Sherry.

 Still, it’s the comedically gifted Zuckerman/DeSalvo’s serious-acting chops that give Knife In The Heart’s “very special episode” finale dramatic punch as DeSalvo digs deep into a family’s WWII-era Eastern-European past and Zuckerman responds as only an actor of his caliber can.

 Scenic designer Stefani Nicole Von Huban transforms the matchbook Dorie Theatre @ The Complex stage into an attractive, stylishly-appointed young marrieds’ apartment lit with professional flair by Miranda Richard.

Knife To The Heart is produced for Pop Up Playhouse by Steve Abrams, Tony D’Angelo, Von Huben, and Zimmerman,

Richard is stage manager. Casting is by Julie Gale. Keir Kerkegaard, Joshua Rodriguez, Mary Chris Wall, and Ally Young-Price are understudies. Voice-over by Katie Amis.

With its stellar cast and clever writing, the equal parts amusing and affecting Knife To The Heart is (excuse the pun) a cut above standard sitcom fare. I enjoyed it a lot.

Dorie Theatre @ The Complex, 6476 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles.
www.KnifeToTheHeart.com

–Steven Stanley
May 5, 2018
Photos: Kim Beavers

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Tags: Christian McLaughlin, Los Angeles Theater Review, Pop Up Playhouse, Stan Zimmerman