Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune
by Terrence McNally

It might be a play about losers, but it was all about winning for director Sally Putnam.

So determined was she to direct the play Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune that she challenged her producer/director partner in Mixed Salad Productions to a fight for the director's role.

Dave Simms did not argue but settled on being the sound man. After all, it was under her direction that he had scored rave reviews for his role as Hector in the company's acclaimed last production, The History Boys.

"The History Boys was such a hit and so big that it was hard to choose what play to follow up with," confides Putnam.

"There was a temptation to go for something safe, but Dave and I had both loved this play and, being a two-hander, it was completely different from The History Boys. It's a more dangerous play, the two actors are onstage all the time with nowhere to hide. And it is a wonderful script by Terrence McNally who wrote Love! Valour! Compassion!, the play with which we started the company."

Adam Tuominen and Theresa Sugars are performing the roles of Frankie, the waitress and Johnny, the short-order cook.

They are a couple of classic New York losers who have met at work. Johnny talks too much and is a hopeless romantic. Frankie is jaundiced after a broken marriage and disappointments in life. When the play opens, they are in bed together.

"This is when their relationship begins," explains Putnam. "The play takes place over six hours from their Saturday night into the dawn."

Frankie says "go". Johnny says "we can make this work". Debussy is playing on the midnight radio channel - Clair de Lune - which is important to the play in a number of ways, not just the music but the hours of the night, the moon in the window.

"Johnny actually phones the station to ask for it to play the most beautiful music ever written," Putnam explains.

When produced in the U.S., Frankie and Johnny ran for 15 months with Kathy Bates and Kenneth Walsh as the players. Its first Broadway production in 2002 starred Edie Falco and Stanley Tucci, the latter being nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play. Rosie Perez and Joe Pantoliano later played the roles and the play was nominated for a Tony for Best Revival of a Play.

"The show is sharp with that New York energy and characters who tell New York stories," says Putnam.

"And it is very funny. Two Acts and lots of laughter.
"And, so far as we can ascertain, it has never been performed in Australia before."

Samela Harris, The Advertiser , October 15, 2009

Theresa Sugars is about to play damaged goods.

After 10 years performing in Melbourne in everything from puppetry to circus, the VCA graduate has returned home to a bitter-sweet role as the waitress Frankie in the SA premiere of this gritty two-hander.

Terrence McNally adapted his acclaimed play for a popular film version that co-starred Al Pacino and Michelle Pfeiffer. Sugars will play opposite another exciting prospect in Adam Tuominen, directed by Sally Putnam.

"Frankie is a woman in her early thirties and she's kind of damaged goods," Sugars says.

"She's a very protective woman who's had a hard life. She's had her eye on the new chef Johnny for a few months, and he on her. Finally they go out on a date and end up in bed back at her studio apartment."

The twist in the play is about the aftermath of their sexual encounter.

"Unlike the movie, the sex is over when the play begins," she says.

"It's about what happens after the one-night stand where Frankie appears happy to leave it at that but Johnny wants more. He's very emotional and she's very guarded, so you have this push-pull conversation. There's a little bit of romance and a lot of sarcasm and dry humour."

Sugars says she can relate to the issues facing 30-somethings.

"It can be a pretty empty scene out there for modern relationships," she says.

"It reminds me of my circle of friends in Melbourne where it's common now for people in their thirties to be out there and dating, and going through that guessing game."

Sugars says Frankie has a short-order life.

"She's been through an abusive, controlling relationship with emotional baggage and physical scars for her trouble," she says.

"Frankie mistook obsession for love, she can't have children because of what happened. She's been happy to sit in her safe studio apartment and watch the world go by. But perhaps against her better judgement Johnny manages to get under her guard. Now he won't go and it's scaring the hell out of her."

Matt Byrne, Sunday Mail, 11 October 2009

Adelaide's acclaimed Mixed Salad Productions will present the South Australian premiere of Terrence McNally’s acclaimed comedy Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune from 16 – 31 October (with previews 14, 15 October) at the Holden Street Theatres, 34 Holden Street Hindmarsh.

A critical and popular success, this bittersweet comedy combines poignancy and laughter as it traces the unlikely romance that begins to develop between two "losers" who end up in bed together on their first date. The big question is…”will you still love me tomorrow?"

Kathy Bates and Kenneth Welsh were the original cast in the 1987 off-Broadway production which Terrence McNally adapted for a 1991 film starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Al Pacino. The play was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Revival on Broadway in 2002.

Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune will feature award-winning actor Adam Tuominen as Johnny, the Shakespeare-quoting cook. Adam graduated from NIDA in 2001 and has appeared on TV in Always Greener, Young Lions and Power Rangers Ninja Storm. More recently he’s appeared on stage in The Glass Menagerie and Streetcar Named Desire, I Hate Hamlet and Mixed Salad’s production of Two Gentlemen of Verona.

Adelaide actress, singer and entertainer Theresa Sugars will play Frankie, the sassy, man-weary waitress. Theresa has many years experience as a children’s entertainer and circus performer with companies such as Jellybugs, and Tonybones Theatre Company, and she is currently recording and producing her own album.

Mixed Salad co-founder Sally Putnam will direct once more, following her recent success with Alan Bennett’s The History Boys. Sally said, “Working on this sexy and witty two-hander is a glorious change from The History Boys. Adam and Theresa are relishing the script which is jam-packed with natural New York patter. And I’m loving the changes of tempo in this play; one minute the couple are arguing about who loves who, the next they’re back in bed together!”

Frankie is a waitress and Johnny is a cook at the same restaurant. Their first date ends with them tumbling into bed. Johnny is certain he has found his soul mate in Frankie. She, on the other hand, is far more cautious.

As the night unfolds, they slowly begin to reveal themselves to each other as they take tentative steps towards the possible start of a new relationship.

Classical music features in the play and the reference to "Clair de Lune" in the title refers to a piece of music by Debussy, which is a key plot element.

Terrence McNally is one of the most accomplished playwrights in America and was a protégé of playwright Edward Albee.

Many of his plays have gay themes including Love! Valour! Compassion! which examines the relationships of eight gay men. He won the 1993 Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical for Kiss of the Spider Woman. and he won the Tony for Best Play in 1995 for Master Class, a character study of legendary opera soprano Maria Callas.

Tickets for Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune are $25 and $18 (concession), previews $10 (14, 15 October) and may be purchased now online through www.mixedsalad.com.au or www.venuetix.com.au or call 0439 533 173.

Performances will be held Thursday to Saturdays at 8.00pm. Sunset shows 21 October at 6.30pm, 25 October at 4.00pm and 28 October at 6.30pm. Previews 14, 15 October at 8.00pm.

Media Release - 18 September 2009

It’s really satisfying when a genuinely funny script meets intelligent actors and direction.

Such is the mix of “Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune”.

The play is such a gentle piece that it could have been overworked in the quest for cheap laughs or left to plod in a mire of emotion. Mixed Salad’s production rings very true thanks to the naturalness of the performances.Frankie is a waitress and Johnny a cook at a New York diner.

They do dinner and a movie on a first date, before ending up in Frankie’s bed; and the play follows the journey the two take across the night until dawn.

Terrence McNally’s script is full of fabulous and sometimes unexpected one-liners one minute, and vulnerable frailty the next. Sally Putnam’s direction never pushes but guides and she helps her actors extract the maximum effect from what seems the minimum of effort. Adam Touminen is Johnny, fast-talking and forward, who is convinced that the relationship’s potential will never be fulfilled unless the two commit that night. His character is a risky one as it could be easily overplayed. Touminen walks dangerously close to the brink at times, but thankfully never goes over the edge. It’s a deeply felt and deft performance.

Theresa Sugars is the man-shy Frankie, hurt so badly in previous relationships that she is determined not to let Johnny get too close. This lady is a revelation. Timing, characterisation and commitment are impressive. I would hope she’s never out of work. The two play off each other like a string sonata and it’s a pleasure to watch. The advertised “brief nudity” is so brief as not to be an issue.

Production values are excellent. The set is magnificently busy but beautifully efficient and the sound and lighting are spot on. Judging by the audience reaction, “Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune” will repeat the success of Mixed Salad’s recent show, ‘The History Boys’, so if you want a great night of theatre, book now.

Tony Busch, Adelaide Theatre Guide, 19 October 2009

Two lonely co-workers at the bottom of the heap, he's an ex con, she wanted to be an actress and now waits tables., finally get it together and the sex is desperate and exciting. Will they make a go of it long term?

Johnny feels that time is running out to get his life together, and he wants it to be together with her. She's not so sure. He decides to woo her with words and feed her into submission.

Director Sally Putnam, for Mixed Salad productions, loves the text and with her two fine actors, Adam Tuominen and Theresa Sugars creates a sensitive performance of this duet for two unfulfilled voices. As the play, which sits neatly in the Holden street venue, settles in the two will adjust the rhythms and silences that shape the work.

McNally weaves the music of Debussy through the story, with the radio announcer making his own comments on their plight. Can they really be called Frankie and Johnny, he muses.

There are also hints of two possible futures.Frankie can see scenes of domestic violence from her window. Johnny speaks of seeing his ex wife and kids in a happy idyllic new life.

There is just one small problem. Tuominen and Sugars are too young and too beautiful. Don't let that stop you going. They are actors to watch, but shirtless or wrapped in a sheet there is no way they can possibly communicate the middle aged loneliness that is one of the motive forces behind their coming together.

If only the play had been cast with older, dare I say it, much less attractive actors, with sagging bodies and receding hair, the pathos of their plight would have filled the room.

Ewart Shaw, The Advertiser, 19 October 2009

Terrence McNally's Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune is a romantic comedy and touching contemporary fairytale, set in a cramped New York apartment.

In a darkened room, the sounds of sexual activity open the play. Once the lights rise and the coitus ends, the audience discovers Frankie and Johnny. She’s a waitress and he’s a cook at the same diner. They’ve been on their first date and ended up in bed together.

Frankie sees it as a one-night stand but he thinks it is the beginning of a life-long romance.

"Everybody has scars," Frankie reveals as they discuss their bodies. However, this is a metaphor for their emotions and life stories. They’re both discontented, lonesome and unlucky in love. No longer in the blossom of youth, he’s an eternal romantic and she’s much more cautious. Whether they’ll be together in the morning depends on how they deal with the possibilities of love.

The problems the couple face are of the everyday, mundane variety and that is the strength of this play. In this small apartment, the almost voyeuristic audience watches two souls bared and simultaneously catches a glimpse of its own life.

Sally Puttnam directs with minimalism, delving slowing into the burgeoning, bittersweet relationship. This does tend to make the production sluggish at times, but despite this McNally’s clever dialogue pushes the tale forward.

Theresa Sugars (Frankie) and Adam Tuominen (Johnny) are arguably too young to be playing disenchanted, middle-aged every-folk – sometimes they pull it off but at others they aren’t totally convincing as damaged souls.

McNally described his protagonists as “ordinary” and Mixed Salads’ production of Frankie & Johnny is a watchable, cut above that.

– Holden Street Theatres: The Studio, until October 31

Stephen Davenport, Independent Weekly, 19 October 2009