GROUP THERAPY


A therapist’s waiting room provides No Exit for two impatient patients—and the sudden arrival of a third individual makes things a whole lot dicier—in Group Therapy, Peter Lefcourt’s latest World Premiere gem, a guest production at North Hollywood’s spiffily refurbished Theatre 68 Arts Complex.

If this were any other day than Monday, March 14, 2022, there’d be little likelihood that therapist Glendora’s nine o’clock and her ten o’clock would ever have crossed paths.

But today happens to be the first Monday of daylight savings time, and leave it to Cassandra (Marnina Schon) to space out on springing forward, meaning that buttoned-up podiatrist Jonathan (Andy Hoff) has already arrived, Covid-masked and impatient to be ushered into Glendora’s inner sanctum, when Cassandra shows up, convinced that she’s only a few minutes late.

It’s clear from their first meeting that fussy germaphobe Jonathan and nonchalantly maskless (“I don’t have Covid”) Cassandra could give Neil Simon’s Oscar and Felix lessons in odd-coupledom.

What they do have in common is the longevity of their commitment to Glendora (Jonathan’s been seeing her for seven years and Cassandra a whopping nine), though how the extremely in-debt Cassandra can afford to see her at $215 a session is anyone’s guess.

It’s great fun watching these two mismatched strangers irritate the hell out of each other, as when Cassandra starts making assumptions about Jonathan’s sexuality (“Husband? Boyfriend? Or are you…fluid?”) or when Jonathan objects to Cassandra’s utter disregard for privacy and propriety. (She sees nothing wrong with singing along to whatever band she’s hearing through her earbuds.)

Then comes news that Olympic has been closed between Bundy and the 405 (which explains Glendora’s delay) and if things weren’t already tense enough, they get a whole lot more so when Jonathan and Cassandra learn the reason for the closure.

“Some nutcase is out there with an assault rifle,” Jonathan informs her. Not only that, but the freeway is backed up in both directions, and the street on which the therapist’s office is located has been shut down, with no one being let in or out.

And if life weren’t already imitating Jean-Paul Sartre, things get a whole lot more fraught as the minutes tick by and fraughter still when Michelle (Ashley Platz), who’s not a patient but probably should be, shows up unexpectedly at about 10:40 with no intention of being on her way.

Is Group Therapy a comedy about opposites not attracting? Is it a social satire of L.A. stereotypes? Is it a suspense thriller?

The answer would appear to be all of the above, and accomplished successfully for the most part, though the play’s abrupt ending leaves questions of “What happens next?” rather frustratingly unanswered.

Still, clocking in at a refreshingly brisk 75 minutes, Peter Lefcourt’s latest is anything but dull, and under Terri Hanauer’s confident direction, its three stars deliver the serio-comedic goods in spades.

Schon is quirky perfection as Cassandra, Hoff’s uptight Jonathan earns just as many laughs as his space cadet of a fellow patient, and from the moment she arrives to stir things up, Platz’s Michelle makes for the most powerful of raspy-voiced dynamos.

Group Therapy’s World Premiere benefits greatly from an all-around topnotch production design, from scenic designer Celine Diano and properties designer Jenine MacDonald’s just-right therapist’s office, to Mylette Nora’s spot-on costumes, to Donny Jackson’s expert lighting.

In addition, sound designer Stephanie Yackovetsky provides tension-upping evidence of outdoor commotion, ringtones, the speaker-phone voices of Sameer Khan, Bruce Nozick, and Lizzie Peet, and elevator-style Muzak interrupted by the dreaded “You call is important to us. Please stay on the line.”

Casting is by Michael Donovan, CSA, and Richie Ferris, CSA. Cat Masterson and Sawyer Fuller are alternates. Julie Ouellette is combat consultant. Roella Dellosa is production stage manager. Ken Werther is publicist.

Previous Peter Lefcourt-Terri Hanauer collaborations (Remembering The Future, Café Society, and La Ronde De Lunch among them) have displayed the couple’s unique talents and versatility. The same can be said about Group Therapy. It’s quite a ride.

Theatre 68 Arts Complex, 5112 Lankershim Boulevard, North Hollywood.
www.OnStage411.com/therapy

–Steven Stanley
July 22, 2023
Photos: Frank Ishman

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