Laura Jane Young and Will Springhorn Jr. Photo by Tracy Martin

The first tenet of writing fictional literature is to write about what you know. Neil Simon came from a Jewish family and neighborhood in New York City's Bronx borough. Shy, poor, and from an unstable family, he grew up during the Great Depression and World War II, and later, having been married four times also informs his writing. Despite seeming anomalies for the Peninsula marketplace, Simon is Hillbarn's most presented playwright, this being its 23rd production of his works.

Interesting incident-related plots that are hard to expand into full length works present problems to authors and producers. One solution is to band several together into a compendium with some common thread, though outcomes can be disjointed and uneven.

With Plaza Suite's three stories, the threads are a suite at the iconic New York hotel and marriage at various stages. The foundations are very provincial, with references special to the New York City environs, the implied Jewish ethnicity, and all of the characters being from the city or suburbs, even though the action is in a hotel. In addition, the social mores reflect those of five decades ago, yet the issues and situations prove universal and timeless. And while the stories are not profound, the Simonesque humor throughout also binds the trio of vignettes together.

Each episode concerns a couple in middle age. Different casting practices have been used elsewhere, but in this case, the same actors play all three male and female leads, resulting in a play that is largely a two-hander. It works in part because the actors, Laura Jane Young and Will Springhorn Jr. are terrific, extracting laughs at every turn. Having the same actors in all of the scenarios provides continuity, yet their appearances and the nature of their characters are different enough to make the skits work independently, yet as a harmonious assemblage. The three females are ditzy, subservient, and unevolved in different ways. The males are self-centered, domineering, and obnoxious in different ways.

Each patron will have a different evaluation of the three acts. My favorite is Act 1, which is the most serious but still filled with humor. It makes the Plaza and Suite 719 a special venue. Karen and Sam, who live in Westchester County, have booked there because Karen thinks it is the suite they stayed in on their honeymoon. It turns out that she gets a lot of information wrong. Her career-focused husband, who often ignores her, loses patience over this issue, and it could be a reason he has fallen into an affair.

This story is very revealing about how stay-at-home moms who stagnate in many ways can sometimes lose their appeal to white collar husbands who get diversity and stimulation in their work world. Laura Jane Young is particularly effective as the flaky Karen who must deal with Sam's endless condescension and even his need to project a certain image.

Act 2 is the funniest and the only one without spousal conflict. Jesse is from suburban New Jersey but has become a successful Hollywood producer. Rather than the buttoned-down type Springhorn plays in the other acts, he's a ruffled hair, turtleneck wearing nouveau-Angeleno type. In New York for business, he invites his high school flame Muriel, now married with three kids, to come to the suite having one thing on his mind–a tryst.

Again, the man has become worldly, while the woman has ossified. Not only that, but Muriel worships Jesse as an idol, citing details of his life from the celebrity magazines that he's not even sure of. Young lays on her thickest New York area accent and her Muriel humorously flounces and blithers through the fog of several vodka stingers, while the hormonal Jesse makes his moves.

In Act 3, Queens residents Roy and Norma are giving their daughter Mimsey away at the Plaza. The problem is that Mimsey has locked herself in the bathroom and won't say a word. Along with all of the humor associated with pre-marital ceremony anxiety, we are repeatedly regaled with Roy's bombastic obsession about the cost of all of the items he's paid for going to waste. He also insists that Mimsey's defiance somehow must be due to something that Norma has said.

Simon's script is full of funny situations and dialogue, and director Marissa Keltie guides the actors through an experience that the audience should find fun-filled and highly enjoyable.

Plaza Suite runs through September 14, 2025, at Hillbarn Theatre, 1285 East Hillsdale Ave., Foster City CA. For tickets and information, please visit www.hillbarntheatre.org.