Last Summer At Bluefish Cove, Jane Chambers’ groundbreaking lesbian romantic dramedy, has returned to the theater that first introduced it to L.A. audiences 40 years ago in a superb outdoor revival that makes Fountain Theatre the place to be This Summer In Los Angeles.

Like Mart Crowley’s The Boys In The Band a dozen years earlier, Last Summer At Bluefish Cove focuses on a tightly-knit group of gay friends (and an unwitting straight interloper), but this time round the protagonists are women of varying ages, professions, economic statuses, and (in this Fountain Theatre revival) racial identities.

There’s gynecologist-turned-feminist icon Kitty (Sarah Scott Cochrane), author of the bestselling The Female Sexual Imperative, and her secretary/lover Rita (Tamika Katon-Donegal, whose committed relationship the resolutely closeted Kitty is convinced she must keep hidden from all but her closest friends.

Equally devoted to each other are renowned sculptor Annie (Noelle Messier) and her used-to-be-married-to-a-man partner Rae (Ellen D. Williams), the former as butch as the latter is fem.

Not nearly so devoted are the born-into-money Sue (Stasha Surdyke) and her much, much younger lover Donna (Stephanie Pardi), who’s obviously more into Sue’s considerable fortune than she is into the woman herself.

And then there’s outdoorsy free spirit Lil (Ann Sonneville), blissfully single and bent on staying that way, that is until the straight-laced-(and straight) Eva (Lindsay LaVanchy) rents a cottage at Bluefish Cove, clueless to the fact that every single resident at the colony is a woman who loves women.

Oh, and Lil has a secret known only to her closest friends that could end any possibility of a happily-ever-after should she ever fall head-over-heels in love.

What sets Bluefish Cove apart from the better-known The Boys In The Band is not just its setting (rural rather than urban), its time frame (an entire season rather than a single night), and the gender of its protagonists.

It’s the refreshing fact that there’s not a single self-hater in the mix, just one reason Last Summer At Bluefish Cove not only feels less dated attitude-wise than Crowley’s play but ends on a hopeful note despite the considerable tears shed in its final scenes.

No wonder then that Bluefish Cove’s original Fountain run kept getting extended (though few could have predicted it would continue to fill seats for a whopping two and a half years).

No wonder either that its 40th-anniversary revival looks to be this summer’s biggest hit, and not just because it’s a terrific piece of writing.

The Fountain has given Last Summer At Bluefish Cove superstar treatment in a gorgeously designed open-air surround-sound production.

Under Hannah Wolf’s incisive direction, Sonneville’s charismatic Lil is as hard-edged as she is vulnerable, LaVanchy (a young Michelle Pfeiffer) transforms captivatingly from sheltered and naïve to boldly self-confident and self-aware, and the romantic/sexual chemistry between the twosome is off the charts.

There’s not a weak link in Bluefish Cove’s all-around sensational supporting cast, from Davis’s brittle but caring Kitty to Katon-Donegal’s warmly supportive Rita to Messier’s tough but tender Annie to Williams’ effervescent, earth-motherly Rae to Surdyke’s dryly acerbic Sue to Pardi’s blithely bratty Donna, each and every one of whom adds depth to characters who, in lesser hands, might come across more archetypal than authentic.

The Fountain’s outdoor stage gives scenic designer Desma Murphy the space to build not only a life-sized summer “cottage,” meticulously appointed by properties designer Rebecca Carr, but an adjacent fishing dock and beach as well, and RS Buck’s gorgeous lighting design truly takes flight in Act Two as the sun sets over L.A.

Add to that Haley Parker’s just-right costumes and above all Andrea Allmond’s mood-enhancing sound design amped through individual headphones that make every single spoken word crystal clear, and you’ve got a production design that deserves each and every one of the raves it’s been getting.

Allison Husko is swing. Andrew Tarr and Gary Markowitz are audio engineers. Savanah Knechel is intimacy director. Scott Tuomey is technical director.

Chloe Willey is production stage manager and Gina DeLuca is assistant stage manager. Lucy Pollak is publicist.

You’d think that a play as revolutionary and powerful and entertaining as Last Summer At Bluefish Cove would have had multiple local revivals since its L.A. debut back in 1983.

That it has taken four whole decades for this to finally happen is just one reason not to miss this summer smash. Every great play should get as great a production as the Fountain is giving Last Summer At Bluefish Cove.

The Fountain Theatre, 5060 Fountain Ave., Los Angeles.
www.FountainTheatre.com

–Steven Stanley
July 23, 2023
Photos: Ken Sawyer Photography

Tags: Fountain Theatre, Jane Chambers, Los Angeles Theater Review