Youngstown Playhouse ‘Harry’s’ is filled with local nostalgia

March 5, 2017 at 12:00a.m.

By Eric McCrea

Youngstown

Local playwright Rob Zellers premiered his Youngstown-themed play “Harry’s Friendly Service” in 2009 in nearby Pittsburgh, but Friday night, The Youngstown Playhouse welcomed the characters to their hometown.

Performed in YSU’s Ford Theater and set just before the infamous “Black Monday” in 1977, Zellers captured the grit and slowly eroding determination of a great city on the precipice of collapse.

The stoic and bottled-up Harry, played by Matthew Mazuroski, deals with his past when his daughter, Emily (Carly Genovese), returns from boarding school. In his present, he mixes with the likes of Sammy and Carmine Carducci, played by John Cox and Chuck Simon respectively. He does his best to help young aspiring lawyer, John, played by Anthony Genovese, and tries to play cards with Tina (Lynn Nelson Rafferty) and Skiddie (Bill Rees.) His Future? Well, that’s the question that was on everybody’s mind during the strike of ’77.

Zellers packed his script with references that will be familiar to anyone who grew up in the Youngstown area. Nostalgia features prominently in the beginning of the play, with beloved businesses such as Strouss, Idora Park, Burlesque and dozens of others.

There’s also a mafia theme that features prominently in the story. Harry and Skiddie both run books, associated with the Carduccis, and they face consequences for their associations. Cox and Simon both play big characters in true mob fashion. Fortunately, they do not share the stage at all. Their characters would have clashed in the same scene, but Zellers wisely kept them separate. Cox’s temper and foolishness were defining traits, compared to Simon’s level-headed authority.

Rafferty was a hoot as Tina. She was hilarious and stole the show. Her costumes were spectacular, and every time she stepped on stage, the air lightened.

Mazuroski was an enigma. He played the protagonist, but to call Harry a hero is a stretch. He straddles the fence between good and evil, and as an audience member, you won’t exactly find yourself rooting for him. There was a lot of struggle happening inside of Harry, but Mazuroski’s performance might have been a little too subtle on that front.

Rees proved capable, but he flew under that radar. Surrounded by big characters, the understated Skiddie wasn’t meant to be front and center, and Rees accomplished that with class.

Anthony Genovese delivered perhaps the most complete character. Jittery at times and void of direction, he was the guy you were hoping would win in the end as his story unfolds.

Carly Genovese was sweet as the surprise daughter. After spending her formative time with nuns, she played awkward and naive. Her skill for nuance still has a ways to go, but she filled the role admirably.

To anyone from Youngs-town, this play is a trip down memory lane. At times, the story moves a little slowly and can seem very mundane. But Zellers so poignantly captures the unimportant, working-class style of dialogue, that to someone from Youngstown, it should seem like the people you talk to everyday.

“Harry’s Friendly Service” will run today and next Sunday at 2:30 p.m. and Friday and Saturday at 7:30 in the Ford Theater of YSU’s Bliss Hall.

For reservations, call 330-788-8739.