HTC Presents Neil Simon's Play 'Rose and Walsh'

The Hampton Theatre Company is kicking off its season on October 19 with the last play of Neil Simons’ career — and what some say is his best-kept secret.

“Rose and Walsh” is set in Bridgehampton in 1984, and the play draws loose inspiration from the romance between Lillian Hellman, the playwright who wrote “The Children’s Hour” and “The Little Foxes,” and writer Dashiell Hammett, author of “The Maltese Falcon” and some other Sam Spade mysteries. The story centers on Rose (played by Rosemary Cline), a struggling writer who receives nightly visits from her true love, Walsh (Andrew Botsford), a successful writer in his own right.

Walsh informs Rose of his impending departure, but not before ensuring she is in a more stable financial situation. This decision sets off a transformative partnership for the couple and profoundly impacts Rose’s assistant, Arlene (Alaina Manzo), and a budding writer Gavin Clancy (Alexander Massaad), whom Rose tries to recruit to help her. The play focuses largely on the legacy of Rose and Walsh and what it means, HTC director George Loizides explained.

Loizides said his own attraction to the show stems from its distinctiveness as not only Simon’s final piece, but also its subtle departure from the playwright’s usual style.

“He’s dealing with themes of love, loss, and motherhood,” Loizides said. “It’s a romantic comedy, but it’s not your typical Neil Simon ‘Odd Couple,’ ‘Barefoot in the Park’ comedy. There is a lot of humor in it. There are laughs in it, but it’s also somewhat of a poignant story.”

Botsford said the fact the play is based on such iconic real-life writers adds depth, but also allows for the flexibility to tell its own story. “It is sort of fascinating to have [Hellman and Hammett] in mind when we’re thinking about the story, and, as I say, Neil Simon’s writing is such that it is full of richness.”

Aside from sharing her first name with her character, Cline said the fact the fictional Rose is older drew her to the role, as she typically portrays younger characters. She also appreciates Rose’s spunk.

“She’s not a sweetheart, she’s a feisty lady,” said Cline. Botsford praised Cline’s handling of her role, noting Rose has more of a storyline outside of the relationship than Walsh does, making it a more challenging part.

“She’s got a lot more to carry than I do,” admitted Botsford. “It’s a little bit of a heavier lift for [Cline]. For me, it’s just been pretty straightforward. My agenda as a character is pretty clear. It’s been a joy to discover that and to work into that and find all the moments that give it color and give it life. It’s been a great challenge.”

Botsford also connected with playing an older character, and the contrast the play shows between older love and young love when looking at Rose and Walsh, as well as Arlene and Gavin.

“There’s certainly humor, but there’s also a lot of really touching stuff and present moments,” he said.

The setting of Bridgehampton was instrumental in persuading HTC’s artistic committee to greenlight the decision to stage the play, Loizides added. “There are many references to Quogue, the East End, Montauk Highway, so we felt this was a good choice for our audience,” he said. “They know all these places, they live in these places.”

The theater’s committee often selects shows based on who in the company can best fill the roles or the types of actors they would like to cast. In this instance, according to Cline, they aimed to bring in young actors, as they had successfully done in their recent production of “The Portuguese Kid.”

“We enjoy that — the veterans working with the new kids. They bring a lot to it and we get so much out of it, and they do too,” she said. “It’s a wonderful sort of symbiotic relationship, a lot of give and take learning on both sides and tons of laughs and fun.”

The company provides a thriving learning environment for young actors, largely thanks to Loizides’s directing style. He commences rehearsals with table reads, subsequently dissects the play into small units (known as beats within scenes), and engages in in-depth discussions with the cast about their characters. They then proceed to block out the action of the play, step onto the stage, and make adjustments.

“George brings out so much conversation about the depth of the characters and their relationships with one another, and their relationships with themselves,” said Cline. “All the great, juicy stuff that we all love to see on stage. And George has the expertise to put us through our paces, that’s for sure.”

For Loizides, casting for the role was straightforward. Having worked with both Botsford and Cline several times in the past, including with Botsford on “God’s Love,” another Neil Simon play, he knew how well Botsford and Cline worked together. Though several people tried out for the roles of Arlene and Gavin, he settled on Manzo and Massaad as soon as he saw them.

“I just had a feeling,” he said. “I’ve been doing it for 55-plus years. I just got a little bug that said. ‘OK, that’s the person.”

The cast is currently in what Cline calls the “micro” phase of rehearsal, nailing down details as intricate as how characters cross the stage and how they move. Loizides leaves those details out of the script and encourages the cast to explore those styles in depth, to make the portrayals of their characters feel as natural as possible.

“It’s very much like building a house,” said Loizides. “You lay a foundation. You build the superstructure. You add to the superstructure. You paint it, then you do some really fine finishing work, and people are ready to move in.”

Cline, Botsford and Loizides have all known each other for years and have a great working relationship, they said. Loizides added that this camaraderie meant that he could get right into the substance of the play during rehearsals.

“We understand one another’s thinking, our methodologies, and we are respectful of one another’s artistry,” Cline explained. “But we’re also challenging each other.”

Ultimately, Loizides expressed his hope that the audience will leave the show with a sense of enjoyment. Cline added that she believes the audience will also glean valuable insights into relationships, given the depth of the characters’ connections.

“The audience may get a little teary and maybe think about their relationships,” said Cline. “It’s a pretty bare naked look at the inside of relationships. That’s something I truly love because then you take that in and you’re like, ‘How are we like, and just as un-alike with these people who are on stage?’ I think Neil Simon makes a point of showing us our humanity in everything he does, and this is, I believe, no exception.”

Hampton Theatre Company’s production of “Rose and Walsh” runs Thursday, October 19, to Sunday, November 5. Shows are at 7 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays, 8 p.m. on Saturdays, and 2:30 p.m. on Sundays. An additional matinee will be offered on Saturday, November 4, at 2:30 p.m. Two “talkbacks” with the cast and director follow the evening performances on October 27 and November 3. Tickets are $36, $31 for seniors (aside from Saturday nights) $20 for students under 25 and $26 for veterans and Native Americans available at hamptontheatre.org or 631-653-8955. Quogue Community Hall is at 125 Jessup Avenue in Quogue.