A couple has a secret rendezvous “Same Time, Next Year” at the Compass Rose Theater

Same time, next year by Bernard Slade is supposed to be a romantic comedy. The Compass Rose Theater production, which opened Oct. 18, is more of a melodrama with several funny lines. Although its dialogue and gender roles are now dated, the play was hailed by critics in 1975 as one of the “funniest shows about love and adultery ever to run on Broadway.”

The plot revolves around a man and a woman, George and Doris, who, despite being married to other people, meet once a year for 24 years for a secret rendezvous. Doris tells her husband that she is on a religious retreat with the nuns. George tells his wife that he is on a business trip.

The characters feel trapped in their marriages, especially in the early years, and one of the characters is at times the hero or the villain. In a scene from 1965, George (Omar A. Said) is Mr. Establishment. Doris (Ann Marie Taglavore), who dropped out of high school after her pregnancy, graduated on bed rest during another pregnancy and is now a 30-something student at UC Berkeley. She learns a lot from anti-war protests.

Doris, full of liberal righteousness, calls George a fascist for voting for Goldwater, who said he would drop a nuke on Vietnam. She doesn’t understand how someone could do something so inhumane. When George blurts out that his son Michael was shot in Vietnam while loading a wounded soldier onto a medical evacuation helicopter, she seems to change her mind and is sympathetic to him. During their annual affairs, they get to know each other’s families through photos and stories. Michael appears to have been George’s favorite son. Over the years, these cheating spouses feel like they know that each other’s spouse and their siblings are old friends.

By 1970, the couple’s roles were reversed. Doris is now an established woman with a successful business and is about to give birth to another. However, it has its price. Her husband is absent for four days. Doris has no idea where he is and is wondering whether she wants him back. After a long analysis, George is now looking for the truth and wants Doris to come to terms with her feelings about her marriage. He will regret it later.

This transforms George from a guilty, insecure idiot with no self-esteem in 1951 to a confident, psycho-babbling do-gooder who gave up on corporate America in 1975. Of course, his career in accounting and money management gave him and his family a soft landing when he decided to play the piano in a cocktail lounge. Physically, the actor has gray patches in his hair and a mustache as he ages.

Taglavore is a Maryland-raised, New York-based actress who, according to her bio, “loves bringing a scripted character to life and collaborating with fellow artists to tell moving stories.” She definitely does this from the moment George picks up Doris with a steak until she rejects him three times.

George and Doris develop a level of comfort with each other that helps each of them master their personal journey. The actors develop and maintain the closeness of the relationship and react to every nuance of changing moods. The darker, largely unexplored side of the story is George and Doris’ betrayed spouses and children at home.

Costume designer Susan Flynn dressed the actors well. The suits, dresses and Taglavore’s hippie outfit were all spot on. It wasn’t the shoes. George had a few pairs throughout the play. Doris wore the same pair in the final scene as in the first scene. Shoes don’t last 25 years.

Director Gary Goodson did a good job of keeping his set fast paced, combining comedy and drama. One example is an impotent George who arouses himself by rubbing the feet of the eight-month pregnant Doris while she breaks her water. Dialogue is not forced throughout the performance; The delivery is as authentic as it can be.

Said and Goodson also served as set designers. The wicker sofa and footrest, pictures on the walls and double bed were fine for 1951, but the set remained the same for 24 years. I could imagine the motel as a seedy place for a one-night stand in 1951, but why return?

Stage manager Ryan Squires and unnamed stagehands remain Same time, next year They move at a rapid pace across six scenes in two acts, keeping the audience engaged at all times.

Running time: One hour and 35 minutes with a 15 minute intermission.

Same time, next year plays through November 17, 2024 (Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m.), presented by Compass Rose Theater at the Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts (third floor), 801 Chase Street, Annapolis, MD. Tickets ($15-$55 plus fees) are available for purchase on-line or call the box office at 410-980-6662.