These days, admitting that you're an undying fan of Woody Allen can touch off debates of separating artists from their art. While being a fan of his is not the most popular stand to take, there's no denying that when he wrote Play It Again, Sam in 1969, he was at the start of a creative period that peaked with his 1981 movie success Manhattan. The inspired comedy features the soon-to-be recognizable Woody Allen persona being aided through the world of romance by the screen persona of Humphrey Bogart. It is just this side of too dated with its politically incorrect references to rape and a running gag about telephones made irrelevant by the incoming of the cellular age. For the Scottsdale Community Players, director Joy Bingham Strimple, rather than keeping this in its original era, has done what she can to bring it into the new millennium. Her tinkering has been generally successful and her fresh perspective of this script has resulted in a few surprises. While none of the performances are impressive, they are mostly consistent and able to hold their own comically.

References hilarious to the New York intelligentsia during the late sixties have been transferred to today, though this version of the play still retains a hint of this bygone era, from the unexpurgated sequence about rape to the giant red plastic hand chair off center stage in the impressive set designed by Paul Wilson.

Rather than the thin, nebbishy redhead, Mark Burkett's Allan Felix (picured left, center) is a husky whiner with slumped shoulders and wire-rimmed glasses. His is a more Midwestern than midtown Manhattan creation, never attempting a hint at his character's obvious Jewishness or incorporate New York affectations or an accent. Initially, it's hard to like him as he is paced like a tortoise during the opening scene. Ms. Strimple has him breaking the fourth wall to speak to the audience, and while this would ordinarily work, the wildly inaccurately run, horribly set, and awfully designed lighting by Mollie Flanagan and Brett Porter, as well as Mr. Burkett's sloppy handling of this device has him addressing lines meant for those onstage directly to the audience, rendering ineffective of this choice. As the play hits its stride, however, Mr. Burkett begins to connect a bit with those onstage, and by the pivotal first scene in the second act, he has made himself his own version of endearing. Better is Kim Rickels' Linda Christie, the wife of his best friend who helps to guide him after his divorce. Ms. Rickels is sweet, and though miscast in this role, becomes enjoyable in her efforts. Save for her badly presented and inadvisable choice of drunkenness in a key scene, she does her level best. It's sad that there is little chemistry between Ms. Rickels and Mr. Burkett, depending almost solely on the writing to bring them together.

Because of Ms. Strimple's surprising choices, Joey Michitsch gives a different performance of Bogey than others that have preceded him. This is not an imitation, but rather a portrayal of essence that has him switching into several recognizable Bogey outfits and affectations, a great choice. Randy Oppenheimer stumbles too often over his lines as Allan's friend Dick, muffing a few laugh lines in the process. Laura L. Webb is a little overblown as blind date Sharon Lake, though Laura Garger tops that with a completely unmodulated and presentational reading of Allan's ex-wife, Nancy. Chrystalle Reed and Angela Connell are cute in their smaller roles.

Alfredo Macias' sound design incorporates ambient sounds that need to be turned down several notches, while Deb Park does a good job in costuming the collection in funny outfits.

The opening Saturday night crowd was smaller than I expected, although I fear that the name of the author may have something to do with that. The final analysis of the production, despite its many flaws, is that it manages to hold the audience's attention from slow start to hilarious finish, and even give them a fair share of laughs, guffaws, and chortles along the way. This is one of the best things I've seen SCP mount over the past two seasons.