June 24, 2025 #1 Local News, Information and Event Source for the Century City/Westwood areas.

Rainbow Bridge- Summer Faire at Ruskin Group Theatre: Center Stage with Beverly Cohn

Ok. It’s summer. It’s watermelons and hot dogs – potato chips and corn-on-the cob. This is fun food, temporarily filling, but not long lasting or particularly nourishing. I use food as an analogy in reviewing “Rainbow Bridge,” the current summer production on stage at the Ruskin Group Theatre as it kind of fits into the same category. The play, written by Ron Nelson and directed by Michael Myers, is perfectly enjoyable for what it is, but don’t expect a fulfilling theatrical experience.

The story revolves around Jerry (Paul Schackman) kind of a nebbishy guy who is dealing with the euthanization of his pet dog Charley, played by a stuffed animal. He is with a zany veterinarian named Dr. Stein (Jaimi Paige) who, besides being ready to put Charley out of his misery, wants to have sex with Jerry. Jerry is sad at the prospect of Charley’s death so Dr. Stein gives him a rather poignant poem to read over the puppy’s dead body called “The Rainbow Bridge.”* Jerry reads the poem to Charley and has a brief conversation with him telling him that he was a great dog and will be missed. When Jerry finally tells Stein that he’s happily married to Karen (Emily Jerez) and doesn’t wish to have an affair, she breaks down sobbing and he does everything he can to try to console her.

But wait. A dead dog and a Dr. Stein, who is hot for his body, are the least of Jerry’s troubles for somehow the poem has resurrected his dead, nasty, foul-mouthed mother Lois (Lynne Marie Stewart) and his hostile sister Amanda (Mary Carrig). These two rather unlikeable dead relatives, unseen by anyone else, haunt him throughout the rest of the play. They invade his life tormenting him with accusations of being a failure as both a son and a brother. Mom brags about all her affairs, while Jerry boasts that he’s been faithful to his wife. “That’s because you’re lazy,” she shoots back at him. Having conversations with these dead family members creates confusion for other people in his life, as some of his replies to mom and sis appear to be non-sequiturs or downright hostile and not understood by the “living” people around him. His nasty responses eventually lead to serious marital consequences.

Now, Jerry is an attorney and the action switches to a courtroom where he is defending is client Theodore, (L. Emile Thomas) on an arson charge. We hear the voice of the unseen Judge Strauss (Mouchette Van Helsdingen) who throws out the evidence and dismisses the case. Theodore loves his work and mentions that someone is willing to pay him $10,000 to burn down an Olive Garden restaurant. His attorney strongly advises against such action, but in a subsequent turn of events, actually contracts to use his services as an arsonist.

Constantly attacked by mom and sis throughout the play, in desperation Jerry asks his mother what he has to do to get them to return to from wherever they came from. Based on a long held grudge, mom has one simple request: “Kill Harriet Feldman.” He can take the badgering no more and finally agrees to commit the crime. He makes a plan that would involve that sexy Dr. Klein giving him drugs and Theodore setting fire to the house, thereby eliminating what would be left of the corpse. He pays his partner in crime $600 in quarters for the torch job. So now we meet a rather pathetic Harriet Feldman (Mouchette Van Heldsdingen) who is wheelchair bound, almost comatose, and in the advanced stages of dementia. She thinks Jerry is her husband and the arsonist Theodore, who is about to set fire to her home, is her son. Mom suggests that they steal Harriet’s big diamond ring to which the indignant Jerry replies: “ We are here to kill, not to steal.”

So the silly antics continue with a few surprises along the way. Just like summer food, “Rainbow Bridge” will give you a few delicious laughs but with no lingering pleasurable after taste.

L-R: Dr. Stein (Jaimi Paige) examines Jerry’s (Paul Schackman) dog Charley in Ron Nelson’s “The Rainbow Bridge” directed by Michael R. Myers.
L-R: Emily Jerez as Karen, with Paul Schackman as her husband Jerry.

L-R: Lynne Marie Stewart as the dead mom, Mary Carrig as the dead sister Amanda, Paul Schackman as the besieged Jerry, and L. Emille Thomas as your friendly neighborhood arsonist.
Mouchette Van Helsdingen as Harriet Feldman, the intended murder victim, L. Emille Thomas as Theodore, the intended arsonist, and Paul Schackman as Jerry the intended murderer. Photo by Ed Krieger.

*This is actually a very poignant poem giving comfort to those who lose their beloved pets.

Ruskin Group Theatre

3000 Airport Avenue

Santa Monica, CA 90405

Run: Fridays and Saturdays: 8 p.m.

Sundays: 2 p.m.

Tickets: $25

Students, Guild Members and Seniors: $20

Reservations: 310. 397.3244

www.ruskingrouptheatre.com .

Closing: September 17, 2017

(Ample free parking)

Related Posts

(Video) Food Fight: Chefs Join Forces to Raise Money to Protect Immigrant Families in Venice

June 24, 2025

June 24, 2025

Estrano, Little Dynamite, Sunday Gravy, Kabob Senpai Answer the Call From Turk’s Pizza Party. Dave Turkel Put This Food Resistance...

Squatter-Plagued Beverly Grove Buildings Could Be Razed After Hazard Cleanup

June 24, 2025

June 24, 2025

Demolition of Three Abandoned Apartments May Begin in Two Weeks Three abandoned apartment buildings in Beverly Grove may soon be...

From Westwood to DTLA, Angelenos March Against Military Escalation in Iran

June 23, 2025

June 23, 2025

Protestors Rally at the Westwood Federal Building This Weekend Following President Donald Trump’s authorization of airstrikes on three Iranian nuclear-related...

LAPD Sergeant Killed Assisting Crash Victims on 405 Freeway in Brentwood

June 23, 2025

June 23, 2025

Tragic Early-Morning Collision Claims Two Lives, Including Veteran Sergeant Two people, including an LAPD sergeant, were killed early Monday in...

Recent Homebuyer Down Payments Slip for First Time in Nearly Two Years

June 23, 2025

June 23, 2025

April’s Median Down Payment Fell as Buyers Lean Toward Lower-Cost Homes The median down payment made by U.S. homebuyers dropped...

Del Rey Affordable Housing Project to Rise on Former Charter School Site

June 23, 2025

June 23, 2025

Community Corp., Local Faith Group Team Up to Build 122 New Apartments Plans are moving forward for a new residential...

Paris Hilton Buys Mark Wahlberg’s Beverly Park Mansion for $63.1M

June 22, 2025

June 22, 2025

The Heiress and Media Mogul Joins a Star-Studded Neighborhood Paris Hilton and husband Carter Reum have purchased a high-profile estate...

A.O.C. Brentwood to Close After 16 Years on San Vicente Boulevard

June 22, 2025

June 22, 2025

Chef Goin and Styne Cite Unsustainably High Rent in Decision to Close  A.O.C. Brentwood, the acclaimed Westside outpost from James...

Weekend Lane Closures on PCH in Malibu Could Snarl Summer Beach Traffic

June 21, 2025

June 21, 2025

Army Corps Work Triggers Weekend Closure on Pacific Coast Highway Motorists traveling along Pacific Coast Highway this weekend should prepare...

LA City Councilwomen Yaroslavsky and Jurado Call for Legal Action Against Federal Immigration Raids

June 20, 2025

June 20, 2025

City Motion Targets Alleged Unconstitutional Tactics, End Qualified Immunity for Fed Officers  City Councilmembers Katy Yaroslavsky and Ysabel Jurado introduced...

All Aboard to LAX: Metro Opens Game-Changing Transit Hub Ahead of Global Events

June 20, 2025

June 20, 2025

 New LAX/Metro Transit Center Comes Closer to Connecting Metro Directly to LAX The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro)...

Princess Diana’s Largest Wardrobe Auction Set for Beverly Hills

June 20, 2025

June 20, 2025

Over 200 Royal Garments to Hit the Auction Block for Charity More than 200 garments and royal artifacts, including the...

Queer Beauty Through the Ages: Getty Hosts Lecture on Greek Art’s Influence on LGBTQ Aesthetics

June 20, 2025

June 20, 2025

Art Historian to Trace Homoerotic Imagery From Ancient Greece to Modern Queer Identity As part of its ongoing Pride Month...

Food Fight on the Venice Boardwalk: Chefs Stand Up for Immigrants with Food

June 20, 2025

June 20, 2025

Turk’s Pizza Party Rallies Top Local Eateries for an Immigrant Rights Fundraiser In a bold display of culinary activism, Turk’s...

Navy Vietnam Vet Finally Gets His UCLA Commencement Moment

June 20, 2025

June 20, 2025

John Fong, 80, Missed His Graduation in 1968 While in Vietnam  Nearly six decades after completing his studies, U.S. Navy...