OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY REVIEW: San Francisco Bay Times

[ From http://www.sfbaytimes.com/index.php?sec=article&article_id=13701 ]

The Name of the Game is Money

By Flora Lynn Isaacson Published: September 23, 2010

Will Maier and Bonnie Antonini in Other People’s Money. Jerry Sterner’s Other People’s Money, currently playing at the Masquers Playhouse in Richmond, is about greed, money and passion. Corporate raider Lawrence Garfinkle aka “Larry the Liquidator” is always looking for the next big score and puts his sights on New England Wire and Cable, a publicly-traded company run by an old codger, Andrew “Jorgy” Jorgenson who is a major employer in a small Rhode Island town. Trying to stave off the hostile takeover, Jorgy hires his stepdaughter Kate, who is a lawyer. Before long, Larry becomes involved in a complicated game of cat and mouse in which he and Kate each struggle to maintain the upper hand. Jorgy’s right-hand man, Bill Coles decides to betray the company for his own self interest, and Larry also is offered a million dollars by Kate’s mother to call off his bid. An exchange of speeches between Garfinkle and Jorgenson at the company’s shareholders meeting precedes the stockholders’ decisive vote. But as he closes in on taking over New England Wire and Cable, which he intends to shut down operations and sell off in parts, Larry must decide which is more important — money or Kate. Even though it’s dark, it’s a very funny and human play. Most of this comes through director Robert Estes’ staging. The tightness of the timing and the easy blending of drama and comedy are accomplished with craft. Estes pays much attention to the play’s set-up (the misguided management of the venerable New England Wire and Cable company) and the characters. Affection is necessary for this comedy to work. Garfinkle and Kate Sullivan, the lawyer who fights him, are not the nicest people. And the director and actors share the immense job of making audiences like Larry and Kate. The humor is in their hands, as is the unlikely love interest. Will Maier’s calm, measured and calculatedly casual approach to the role of Larry works without a flaw. And Maier’s sense of humor informs Larry’s every move. Equally well cast is Bonnie Antonini as hard-edged Kate, who fights desperately to succeed in a man’s world. And Antonini’s sense of laid-back humor softens the sharpness of a difficult role. Keith Jefferds has a refreshing reserve as the company’s self-effacing CEO, gentleman Andrew Jorgenson. And Jefferds makes logical the long-standing affection between Jorgenson and Kate’s mother, Bea. As Bea, RoyAnne Florence’s matter of fact-ness also anchors a good performance. And Frederick Lein sympathetically plays William Coles, the story’s narrator and manager of the company. Other People’s Money continues (Friday/ Saturday 8pm, Sunday 2pm) until Oct. 2 at Masquers Playhouse, 105 Park Place, Point Richmond. Tickets ($18) call (510) 232-4031 or at masquers.org.