THE SEVEN YEAR ITCH

YCP TheaterWorks continued its 46th season with one of theater’s biggest comedy hits, George Axelrod’s The Seven Year Itch. Directed by Christopher Arena.

Under the direction of Christopher Arena, The Seven Year Itch will prove itself remarkably fresh and funny. The story is all too familiar: With his wife and child off to the shore for the summer, but a job that keeps him in their downtown apartment during the work week, a husband of seven years fantasizes about having a fling with a young woman who has sublet the apartment above. Although the themes and conflicts are just as tangible and realistic today, be assured this is not a revival of a creaky 1950s comedy.

First of all, director Arena has updated the play, setting it in the present time. Second, if it’s the movie you remember, you may not realize that the play is much edgier. Third, playwright Axelrod employs a fascinating and rarely used technique: he takes us into the mind of a married man. The audience always knows what the main character is thinking. Not only does he talk to himself, but the two main characters’ alter egos appear as needed. Though the script alternates between reality and fantasy, the story is understandable and believable enabling the audience to reflect on the nature of relationships just as it did in the 50s.

Christopher Arena is a sought after director in the tri-state area who manages his own theater as well, the Moonlight Theater at Willow Towers in New Rochelle. Christopher has worked in many different genres including mime, musicals, ballet and opera as well as legitimate theatre. Christopher serves as Chairperson of the New Rochelle Council on the Arts. 

Performed: March 10, 11, 12, 17, 18 and 19, 2006.