U. THEATER TACKLES ADULT COMEDY IN `CHAPTER TWO'

Like rich food, a good play is a mixture of many subtle elements combined to create an enticing treat.

Neil Simon's "Chapter Two" is such a play, says Robert W. Dillon, assistant professor of theater, who is directing "Chapter Two" in February at Southeast Missouri State University.

"It is not a light-hearted comedy; there is more meat here, more soul," Dillon said. "Neil Simon is a master of writing a very funny play that is also very meaningful."

The play will be presented Feb. 21-22 and 26-29 in the Forrest H. Rose Theatre on campus. Tickets go on sale Monday at the theater box office, 651-2265.

The cast of "Chapter Two" includes veteran university theater department actors, something Dillon said was not intentional but will add to the depth of the play.

"I try to be very open-minded when it comes to casting calls because I want to give everybody a chance," he said. "We had a need for some real strong professional actors in this play and I think we've got that."

"Chapter Two" is a fictionalized account of Neil Simon's precipitous remarriage to actress Marsha Mason only months after the death of his first wife. Simon's character, George Schneider, is a widowed writer who falls in love with and marries only months after the death of his first wife an actress who is in the middle of a painful separation herself.

Schneider is played by Alden Field. It's a role that was originated on Broadway by Judd Hirsch. Field, a sophomore from Sikeston, has had numerous lead roles in university productions.

His love interest, Jennifer Malone, is played by Abbie Crites, a senior from Wheatland, Wyo., and another well-known university theater actor.

The cast also includes Jay Cross, a senior from Pittman, Ill., as Leo Schneider; and Kara Cracraft, a senior from Cape Girardeau, as Faye Medwich.

Dillon said the mature themes of "Chapter Two" have been a challenge for the experienced but young cast.

"It centers upon a man who has lost his wife of 12 years, so it's a very serious play. A lot of the things that are going on in the play are things these young people have not had to experience directly, so there's a depth of emotion that's going to be difficult for them to reach."

But, he added, "I think they're going to succeed."

"Chapter Two" was Simon's 16th stage work, completed in early 1977. It was immediately purchased for film production. The play premiered in New York on Dec. 4, 1977.

Dillon said the seriousness of the play is mixed with Simon's own brand of humor.

"It's about the struggles people go through when they are grieving. But it's entertaining and also funny at times," he said.

"It's about a man who is trying to write a chapter two in his life."

Tickets for students, faculty and staff are $3, and all others are $5. Group rates are available on Feb. 26 and 27. All performances begin at 8 p.m.