The Last Romance

Joe DiPietro’s The Last Romance is a charming, sweet play about love in your twilight years. Set in New Jersey, Ralph, an 80-year-old widower, whose passion is opera and who at one-time auditioned for the Met, unexpectedly meets Carol, a former executive secretary in a dog park where’s she’s walking her Chihuahua, Peaches.

A friendship ensues but the path to their “last romance” is thwarted by Ralph’s selfish and bitter sister Rose whose husband walked out of her 22 year-ago to be with another woman. Rose has never got over it, and being Catholic, refused to get a divorce, and secretly harbours the belief he might come back to her. Carol’s life also holds a secret too which is not revealed until late in the play.

It’s a familiar scenario with just enough road-blocks along the way to make the drama interesting, and is helped by the inclusion of various opera arias sung by an on-stage character of Ralph in his youth.

A trio of veteran actors gave fine performances under Mike Taylor’s astute direction. Ken Morrissey as Ralph was ebullient, ingratiating, and playfully teasing in his wooing of Carol eventually wearing down her initial reluctance to become friends. His resigned acceptance of his sibling’s harassment and interference was palpable, whilst his remembrances of his youthful years had honesty. Beverley Irwin-Taylor nicely channelled Carol’s fear of commitment while at the same time revealing hints of her longing for love. Jennifer Langton’s Rose wore the cloak of possessiveness with honour with her sibling love fuelled by her own selfishness.

Liam Webb as the Young Ralph was a presence throughout appearing at various times to sing snatches of arias from Rigoletto, La Boheme and Paliacci. “Come Back to Sorrento” at the finale was particularly pertinent and pleasant.

Bob Howes’ yapping dog soundtrack set the mood of the piece while sets and costumes were cosily attractive. The on-stage appearance of Peaches elicited the as-to-be expected oohs and aahs from the audience.

The denouement of the plot was a little pat, and Ralph’s reluctance to fight for his one “last romance” seemed a cop-out, but DiPietro’s play about a sunset romance still resonated with enough truth to satisfy.

Peter Pinne