Today’s ‘Sirens’ enthrall with laughs

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Ellen and Scott Phelps rehearse for their roles in "Sirens" at Citadel Theatre.

Updated: February 2, 2012 2:13PM

Maybe, if you’re a romantically inclined guy deep in the throes of a mid-life crisis, it’s not a good idea to stand near the rail of a cruise ship in waters known to harbor mystical aquatic seductresses.

It’s pretty likely that Sam Abrams, the long-married hero of the romantic comedy “Sirens,” would consider that good advice. Not that he had sense enough to put it into practice himself.

If he had, though, there wouldn’t be much of a story to tell when “Sirens,” a hit at the 2010 Humana Festival of New American Plays, has its Midwest premiere Feb. 3 at Citadel Theatre in Lake Forest.

Fast and funny

“This show is so much fun,” said Citadel artistic director Scott Phelps, who plays Sam opposite his wife Ellen, co-starring as Sam’s wife Rose Adelle. “It’s hilarious, it’s romantic, it’s 97 minutes long and
it moves like the wind. When I saw it at the festival, I did not stop laughing from curtain rise to curtain fall.”

Not that there is any parallel whatsoever between the long-term, comically troubled Abrams marriage and the long-term marriage of the Phelpses — who met, by the way, 30 years and four kids ago at the Humana fest. The couple still does their best to return every year to that festival.

“Sirens” is the story of a man who fell in love with his wife in high school, wrote a hit song named for her that has been covered by everyone from Mel Torme to Ludacris, lived happily with her on the proceeds for 25 years — and then found himself uninspired and un-enflamed by her halfway through their journey.

Desperate to write another great song, Sam begins looking up old high-school sweethearts and playing on-line Scrabble with all the other virtual fish in the cyber-sea, until Rose discovers the 137 female friends on his Facebook page.

Rose decides a nice cruise of the Greek islands is all that’s needed to rekindle their romance, but the situation is complicated when music-lover Sam hears the fabled song of the Siren and jumps overboard — in search of love, passion and another hit record.

Not quite a hero

“He’s supposed to die,” Phelps said. “Pretty much everyone who hears the Siren’s song jumps ship, drowns and washes up on her little island. So, she (the Siren) is kind of surprised when Sam gets there. As a matter of fact, the last guy who didn’t die was Ulysses of ‘The Odyssey’.”

Who, of course, was also having marriage problems of a sort. So the Siren knows how to deal with Sam, who soon realizes his wife is his true love and muse — though the repercussions of his little extramarital swim are far from over.

“As soon as I saw this show, I knew it was perfect for us,” said Phelps, who, with his wife, has successfully guided Citadel Theatre against the odds into its ninth season, where it is on the verge of becoming an Equity-affiliated theater along the lines of Highland Park’s late-lamented Apple Tree.

“A lot of long-term married couples are in our audience,”
said Phelps, “and any couple that’s been together for any significant amount of time is going to know what it is to lose a little of the
spark in their romance — at least for a little while. They’re going to be thinking, ‘Yep, we’ve had that argument.’ ”