Despite a 1939 Broadway premiere that was not very well received, Paul Osborn’s comedy Morning’s at Seven has had a lengthy afterlife: along with countless regional stagings over the decades, there have been Broadway revivals in 1980 and 2002. The latest off-Broadway incarnation underlines its strengths and weaknesses: this rickety boulevard play avoids taking chances or taking sides but contains nine juicy parts, another obvious reason why it keeps reappearing on stages throughout the country.

 

Morning’s at Seven concerns four sisters, Cora, Arry, Ida and Esther, who live in a small American town in 1922. Cora lives with her husband Thor in one house, along with Arry, while Ida lives with her husband Carl and son Homer in the other. The play takes place in the backyards of both houses, which is where the soap operaish relationships—Arry and Thor might have had an affair; Cora covets the house Homer and his fiancée Myrtle are planning to move into; Carl’s uncertain mental state worries Ida; Esther spends too much time with her sisters, upsetting her husband David; along with other family secrets and lies—play themselves out, predictably if not unsatisfactorily.

 

No one sees Morning’s at Seven for any stunning insights into the human condition but to be entertained by a harmless, humane comedy. And, as this staging demonstrates, it’s not that the jokes and repartee are especially funny or clever but that the nine members of the cast do their best to make everything land. Indeed, there’s not a weak link in the ensemble, including the charming Ally Mills, who only recently joined as Arry after Judith Ivey withdrew with an injury; Mills fits right in, bantering easily with the others.

 

It’s that homespun, believable chemistry among these performers that makes it so enjoyable: you really do believe that Mills’ Arry, Lindsay Crouse’s Cora, Alma Cuervo’s Ida and Patty McCormack’s Esther are loving but bickering sisters. Dan Lauria’s Thor, John Rubenstein’s Carl and Tony Roberts’ David are not far behind as the three husbands, and rounding out the cast are Jonathan Spivey’s Homer and Keri Safran’s Myrtle, who do nicely as the next generation.

 

Director Dan Wackerman puts this nonet through its paces quite capably on Harry Feiner’s realistic set, which looks artfully artificial and lived-in simultaneously. The production has been lit beautifully by James E. Lawlor III and costumed spiffily by Barbara A. Bell. It’s been a long time since there’s been live theater to attend, and Morning’s at Seven will do very well for those wanting light entertainment.