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When is a nervous breakdown a laughing matter? In Neil Simon�s The Prisoner of Second Avenue, the title character isn�t the only one who�s cracking up. Dreamweavers Theatre in Napa wrings a fair amount of laughs out of the prolific playwright�s urban comedy for their 2007 season opener.

Mel Edison (Trevor Wright) is a 47-year-old ad executive who loses first his job and then his grip when bad luck turns even worse. It doesn�t make Mel feel any better when his wife Edna (Krisi Pilkington) steps back into her secretarial shoes to support the household, or even when his siblings arrive to rally round their brother. There�s a lot of ranting along the way, but with time and therapy, Mel will at least continue the struggle if not win the battle outright.

Director Julia Glattfelt assembles a fine cast to embody the immediately recognizable characters that Simon crafts so skillfully. As Mel, Wright has presence and energy, though perhaps a bit too much of the latter for the role originated by Peter Falk. Substantially younger than the middle-aged everyman he portrays, Wright lacks some of the gravity and world-weariness that come from living and working two more decades. He is, however, able to find many comic and truthful moments in Mel�s frustration with the whole world.

Pilkington plays Edna as a sugary cross between iconic 70�s single girls Mary Tyler Moore and Marlo Thomas. She is appealing with a natural quality on stage, but it�s the family who comes to Mel�s rescue that steals the show. As his trio of sisters, Gail Silverman, Rose Marie Sweeney, and Jeanne Maxwell create distinct characters that ring hilariously true. They lovingly bicker in a universally familiar, familial, and funny way while Arthur Goulart as brother Harry fills the shoes of the patriarch with aplomb.

Glattfelt capably stages the action in the Edison�s living room including a clever transition between the first two scenes. She also wisely chooses to keep the show a period piece, complete with well-chosen tunes of the me decade in her sound design collaboration with husband, Jerry Glattfelt. A family affair offstage as well as on, Mr. Glattfelt contributes the solid set design, while Joe Adams� lighting effectively makes good use of the Dreamweavers equipment.

Neil Simon is a keen observer of human nature as evidenced by his ability to compose such three-dimensional, identifiable characters in his work. While �The Prisoner of Second Avenue� may not be his most compelling piece, it offers a lovingly witty portrayal of our varied nature in the unnatural rat race � cynical, sad, warm, endearing, and enduring. Dreamweavers Theatre�s production plays through January 28. Call (707) 255-5483 or visit www.dreamweaverstheatre.org for tickets and information.

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