A jaded novelist and the cockeyed optimist he hires to type his latest opus try hard not to fall hard for each other in 1961 Greenwich Village in Shem Bitterman’s edgy and entertaining World Premiere two-hander The Typist, now playing at the Hudson Guild Theatre.

 The empty bourbon bottles and overflowing ashtrays strewn about big-city writer David Yardley’s (Noah James) basement flat have already clued us in to his dissolute bohemian lifestyle even before fresh-out-of-Iowa Suzanne Swertley (Evangeline Edwards) shows up on his doorstep to type the five-years-in-the-making novel he intends to submit for (and hopefully win) next year’s National Book Award.

As to whether or not Dave is serious when he informs the shocked small-town girl (herself an aspiring writer) that the typing gig will also require her becoming his mistress “for the duration of the assignment” is a joke (he insists he was only “testing” her), well it certainly doesn’t seem that way to Suzanne.

 Still, she’s willing to give the writer the benefit of the doubt given the three dollars an hour (over $30 in today’s currency) he’s agreed to pay her with time-and-a-half for overtime.

What Dave doesn’t want is someone to clean the pigsty he calls home, but tell that to Suzanne, whose first full day on the job has her bringing along three containers of Raid to spray around Dave’s rat-and-roach-infested flat while filling the waste paper basket with discarded junk.

Once slightly reassured that she’s in no immediate danger from the vermin who call Dave’s apartment home, Suzanne gets down to work typing, and it doesn’t take long for her to realize that the novel’s “Nick” and “Anne” are thinly-veiled stand-ins for Dave and his ex-wife, and that the marriage he’s describing is “the wreck of what was left of” his own.

Will “Nick” and “Anne’s” story repeat itself if The Writer and The Typist become romantically involved? Will Dave be able to repair his severed relationship with his soon-to-be 16-year-old daughter? And what will happen to Dave and Suzanne once all 361 pages have been typed?

Anticipating the answer to these questions and more is one of the reasons audiences will want to catch Shem Bitterman’s latest.

Another is the playwright’s sharp writing and the vivid characters he has created in this worthy follow-up to last year’s smash two-hander The Civil Twilight.

Most of all, audiences will want to savor the performances director Jeremy Wechsler has elicited from his two remarkable stars.

 Leading man James may not match the character description in Bitterman’s script (a reader would likely picture Jack Nicholson in his mid-forties) and James is about a decade younger and a whole lot fitter than that, but I doubt anyone will complain given the dramatic intensity and passion the acting dynamo brings to this return to the stage after five seasons starring in the international smash Amazon Prime series The Chosen (with another two to come).

As for James’s leading lady, there’s probably no actress who’s made more of a splash on the L.A. stage scene over the past two-and-a-half years than Edwards, whose star turns in Heroes Of The Fourth Turning, Brushstroke, and A Good Guy have stunned audiences with her commanding stage presence, chameleon-like versatility, and acting chops once again on full display as the awkwardly charming, straight-laced (but still waters run deep) young woman who is so much more than first impressions would suggest.

And no playwright or cast could ask for a dreamier team of designers than Joel Daavid, whose minutely detailed set and dramatic lighting have us believing we’re flies (cockroaches?) on the walls of Dave’s basement digs, Z Wechsler for a multitude of period-accurate props, and Charly Charney Cohen for costumes (and jaunty women’s hats) that recall the turn-of-the-1960s to perfection.

Last but not least, The Typist wouldn’t be the production it is without saxophonist Alexander Anderson evoking both time-and-place as he performs live jazz selections from above Dave’s flat, a combination of 20th-century standards and original music by music director Roger Bellon.

The Typist is produced by Danna Hyams and MK Viakley. Eric Newson is production stage manager. Sandra Kuker is publicist.

With regional theaters clamoring for budget-friendly two-handers these days, it’s easy to imagine The Typist becoming a popular addition to seasonal lineups in the years to come. Meanwhile, Los Angeles audiences can count themselves lucky to be given the opportunity to discover Shem Bitterman’s latest doozy of a play before anyone else.

Hudson Guild Theatre, 6539 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood.
https://playswithpeople.ludus.com/

–Steven Stanley
February 2, 2026
Photos: Lizzy Kimball

Visit www.theatreinla.com/nowplayingrs.php for a review roundup of what’s now playing in theaters around Los Angeles.

Tags: Hudson Guild Theatre, Los Angeles Theater Review, Shem Bitter man