A DELUSIONAL AFFAIR by Carol Kaufman Segal

            A Delusional Affair, a comedy written by 91-year old Albert James Kallis, a man of many talents.  Kallis was born to Russian immigrant parents, and during his years, he has had four successful careers including a graphic design-marketing-advertising giant, a documentary filmmaker, co-founder of the IHOP restaurant chain, and an author.  He can now add to his dossier, a playwright!

            After two people have been married for a number of years, even though they still love one another, it seems that the romance fades and they take one another for granted.  In the case of the couple in A Delusional Affair, Julia Foxx (Rachel Galper) and Oliver Foxx (Gregg Berger), celebrating their 25th anniversary, has not worked out to be the good time that Oliver had hoped it would be. 

            Oliver is looking for a special romantic night.  He begins by telling Julia that he plans to sell his business for a great deal of money and has plans for the two of them to take a trip around the world.  Julia is working on her computer, barely listening or responding to anything Oliver is saying.  She is in the middle of writing a book that has already been accepted by a publisher and her mind is totally on her work, anxious to get it finished and printed.

            Feeling rebuffed, Oliver leaves Julia and of to bed he goes.  When he awakens in the morning, he finds himself in bed with a stranger, a beautiful young sexy woman named Gina (Albina Katsman).  Needless to say, he is shocked, but it turns out that Oliver is the only one who can see the girl who is a delusion of a character from Julia’s book. 

            Why has this girl appeared to Oliver at this time?  It seems that her presence, unbeknownst to Oliver and Julia, has come to life to actually save their marriage by making them question everything about their love, their marriage, and what their lives together are all about.

            Written with so much humor, and performed so well by the three actors, I recommend this play (but for mature audiences due to the topic and some nudity).  Credit goes to Chris DeCarlo for his fine work directing the cast.

            A Delusional Affair plays Saturdays at 8 PM, Sundays at 3:30 PM, through April 30, at the Santa Monica Playhouse, 1211 4^th Street, in Santa Monica.  Reservations are necessary and are available by calling the Playhouse Box Office at (310) 394-9779, ext. 1, or online at SantaMonicaPlayhouse.com/a-delusional-affair.html.