It costs $79-$100 to see “Billy & Ray,” a sappy and forgettable new Off-Broadway comedy about filmmaker Billy Wilder (“Mad Men” co-star Vincent Kartheiser) and author Raymond Chandler (stage and film regular Larry Pine) working together in Hollywood and hashing out the screenplay of the 1944 noir classic “Double Indemnity.”
On the other hand, you can purchase a subscription to Netflix for $8.99 a month and instantly stream the film “Double Indemnity” (far better than watching a play that’s the equivalent of an infomercial about it) and at least six seasons of “Mad Men.”
“Billy & Ray” is an unusually commercial-oriented and sophomoric programming choice for the prestigious Vineyard Theatre, which has a strong track record in premiering challenging musicals and dramas.
Even more unusual is the involvement of Garry Marshall (director of crowd-pleasing chick flicks like “Pretty Woman” and “The Princess Diaries” and producer of too many television sitcoms to count) as its director. The only stage credit noted in his playbill bio is building a theater in California where “Happy Days: The Musical” apparently premiered.
“Billy & Ray” is built around an “Odd Couple” sort of premise (fitting since Marshall produced the television version of “The Odd Couple”), with Wilder being young, sex-obsessed and giddy while Chandler is older, uncomfortable and downbeat.
It offers some interesting behind-the-behind trivia about “Double Indemnity” (though all of that could probably be found in a Wikipedia article) and the Production Code, which sanitized creative ambition in Hollywood for so long.
Kartheiser, whose raw performance as the sleazy, self-centered exec Pete Campbell on “Mad Men” has always been a highlight, is ill at ease as Wilder, coming off like a kid doing an impression and trying out an Austrian accent.
Pine is far more credible as Chandler, who speaks up for his abilities as an author as he battles alcoholism. Sophie von Haselberg, a recent Yale grad, makes a promising debut as Chandler’s resourceful “girl Friday” secretary.
If you go: “Billy & Ray” plays at the Vineyard Theatre through Nov. 23. 108 E. 15th St., vineyardtheatre.org.
