On The Stage … with Camille Bounds: Relationship blooms after 30 years in Limelight’s romantic comedy

Tender play runs through Feb. 12

Photo courtesy Elizabeth Mandel
From left: Jim McCann as “Austin,” Roberta Vinkhuyzen who plays five characters, Bruce Pember who plays five characters, and Sandi Lewandowski playing “Ruth.”

By Camille Bounds

Camille Bounds

Limelight Theater’s “Later Life” offers audiences a delightful charmer. The romantic comedy brings a couple together after a fling 30 years ago, forcing them to face pain and gentle humor as their newly revived relationship blooms.

In the show that opened Jan. 20 and closes Feb. 12, “Ruth” (played by Sandi Lewandowski) and “Austin” (Jim McCann) fall in love in their 20s on the island of Capri, only to part after one day together. Now in their 50s, they are re-introduced at a Boston cocktail party by the hostess.

“Ruth” remembers the details of their brief romance while “Austin” stretches his mind to recall. When they finally put the time and place together, they start questioning why the romance didn’t go farther. The united lovers spend the rest of the play treading through a minefield of emotions.

Limelight director Bill Tindall  has gathered  a solid cast. Bruce  Pember and Roberta Vinkhuyzen each play five different guests who interrupt “Ruth” and “Austin” in  their search. They all give enthusiastic, fine performances that keeps the show moving and holds the audiences’ attention.

I also admired the show’s set design by Andrew Cummings and the elegant costumes designed by Christine McElroy.

With a really well written script by Pulitzer Prize-nominated playwright A.R. Gurney, the story weaves humor and romance together in a show full of subtle dialogue. It creates moments of deep thoughts mixed with touches of tender reflections that will make you ask yourself, “What if?” Don’t miss one of the best productions Limelight has offered to date.

Camille Bounds is the theater review columnist for Gilroy Life.