DATE: Thursday, April 3, 1997               TAG: 9704020158

SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS         PAGE: 13   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Theater review 

SOURCE: BY MONTAGUE GAMMON III, CORRESPONDENT 

                                            LENGTH:   63 lines

COMEDY A GOOD COMEBACK CHOICE

The good news. is that the ZWG Repertory Theatre is back in business, and promises to stick around for a while. The group, which emphasizes the works of African-American artists, spent several uncertain months after losing its first home. A production of Neil Simon's comedy ``The Star Spangled Girl'' inaugurates their new Granby Street theater.

There really isn't any bad news, although the show is a bit rough around the edges.

The actors are talented, with a natural comic flair. Under Sheri Bailey's direction, their abilities bring out the quiet humor provided by Simon's script.

This staging is less frantic than might be expected, becoming most effective when it underplays broad elements of farce for more delicate comedy.

Andy Hobart and Norman Cornell are young roommates who put out a radical magazine they call ``Hostage.'' Into their lives comes the striking Sophie Rauschmeyer, an arch-conservative Olympic swimmer.

Norman is smitten into immobility, and since he is the sole writer for their publication, his infatuation stalls production five days before deadline. Not only is Andy philosphically committed to the magazine, but its publication is apparently their sole way of staving off the bill collectors who beset them. It's not quite clear why Norman sports a Rolex watch when they are living on a pittance, but such inconsistencies count only as passing distractions.

The main plot concerns Andy's attempts to keep Norman working. Those efforts involve persuading Sophie to be pleasant to Norman, despite behavior that would be called harassment if Simon wrote the play today.

There's a sub-plot, which to Simon means a separate series of gags that he hasn't yet turned into complete plays, about Andy's grudging romance with their unseen ``daredevil landlady.'' Joining her in surfing, aerobics, motorcycle jaunts and the like allows Andy to live rent-free at some peril to his nerves and health.

Tony Britt is a newcomer to the stage with a nice touch for close-up, ironic comedy in his role as Norman Cornell. Gina Bullock-George is appropriately exasperated as Sophie and turns out to have a lovely singing voice. A naive sincerity fuels their most successful moments.

Rodney Suiter, artistic director of ZWG and a veteran of numerous area stages, carries large parts of the show with his energy and commitment in the part of Andy.

``Star-Spangled Girl'' was written in the mid-'60s, and not all the elements updating the script to 1997 are successful. Retaining mention of ``the president's guidelines'' about wage increases is curious, and references to a ``printer cartridge'' and the presence of an computer on stage make Norman's reliance on a manual typewriter inexplicable.

Unconvincing details distract an audience. When characters pretend to eat out of a clearly empty cake pan, or cook food in a cookie tin, one loses something of the play's substance while readjusting to the superficialities. Still such concerns are are far out-weighed by the fresh potential that ZWG brings to the local theatrical environment. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic

AT A GLANCE

WHAT: ``The Star Spangled Girl,'' by Neil Simon

WHEN: 8 p.m Friday and Saturday; 3 p.m., Sunday

WHERE: ZWG Repertory Theatre, 810 Granby St. TICKETS: 627-1568

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