THE PRANCING HORSE is a light comedy about love in Atlantic City. Set mainly in a bar at a casino called The Prancing Horse, the action goes down fast and easy.

At the core of THE PRANCING HORSE, Charlotte, a dancer, Becky, a lady of the evening, and Joe, the bartender befriend Jimmy, a New York doctor with a gambling problem. Along the way we learn that Charlotte left a small town, ballet school and a boy named Ed to come to Atlantic City. Becky plays matchmaker, Ed comes to town, and the unlikely love plots continue to unfurl.

A simple story at the root, but one that is a little quirky as written and played, THE PRANCING HORSE is good for some laughs. The action flows pretty smoothly, although the night I saw the play, the opening performance, there was some trouble with the lighting cues. There are also some cumbersome scene changes that detracted from an otherwise simple and stylish set. The cast members, however, were on point and up for the task. Their characters are fairly broadly drawn, almost to the point of being caricaturish, but the actors made the most of the roles as they are.

Not the greatest love story ever told, and a bit more like sitcom fare, THE PRANCING HORSE has a certain appeal.

- Kessa De Santis -

Archives    Listings