Neil Simon – as White Rock director Susanne de Pencier remarks – knew exactly what he was doing when he was crafting a play. The legendary American playwright, screenwriter and author had a gift for taking elements of his own life and fashioning them into stage comedies that have stood the test of time – both as works of art, and as entertainment that can still, at a remove of half a century, evoke genuine laughter, as well as a few tears. With his 1977 play latest production of the White Rock Players Club (opening June 13 at Ocean PARC Playhouse, 1532 Johnston Rd.
), he confronted one of the most painful of human experiences – bereavement. It was written partly in tribute to his then-wife, actress Marsha Mason, who had married him when he was still struggling to come to terms with the death of his first wife, Joan Baim, who died in 1973. In typical Simon fashion, the late playwright transformed their real-life situation into a story of recently widowed writer George Schneider (Dann Wilhelm), who is introduced by his brother, Leo (Kelten Jensen), a press agent, to newly divorced actress Jennie Malone (Sam Silver).
Just as much as Leo is encouraging George to get back into dating, so Jennie’s neurotic best friend Faye (Vanessa Klein) is urging her to give George a chance. And while romance does develop between George and Jennie, despite the misgivings of both, recurring memories of his late wife eventually threaten to derail their relationship. “In the second act, t.
