The third and final leg of Tom Dudzick's trilogy of plays about the Pazinskis -- a Polish-Catholic family living in Buffalo, N.Y., during the 1950s, '60s, and, in this installment, the '70s -- works fine as a standalone effort, yet is best enjoyed by those familiar with Over the Tavern and King o' the Moon, both staged at this venue in recent years. This offering, which unfolds during "the blizzard of the century" that socked in the East Coast in 1977, has a more decidedly serious coloration than Tavern and Moon. The family patriarch has died, and mom Ellen (Robin Pearson Rose) is selling Chet's Bar & Grill and its upstairs apartment -- the family's home -- and moving on. The question for her three 30-something kids is: What will become of 31-year-old Georgie, the fourth sibling? Born mentally retarded, he has begun to develop a memory-loss condition similar to senile dementia.
Despite the script's more sober nature, Dudzick furnishes director Glenn Casale, adept with sitcom-style material, with plenty of laugh lines. Casale keeps the pace from flagging while getting out of the way of the heavier moments.
Ellen is more rock-steady here than in the prequels, and Rose obliges with a loving yet no-nonsense woman of indeterminate age. The jokey Rudy, so charmingly candid as a child, now seems a tiresome ham, straining to evoke laughs from his family. Looking like a grown-up Fred Savage, Marc Valera is more credible when portraying Rudy as frustrated writer -- Dudzick's alter ego who, like Tennessee Williams, will go on to write plays about the beloved family he knows only too well. Robert Della Cerra is solid as elder brother Eddie, a commercial illustrator whose service in Vietnam has sobered him for life. Erin Bennett also does well in the thankless role of worrywart sister Annie, while, as Georgie, James Leo Ryan looks prematurely aged in an almost creepy fashion.
Presented by McCoy Rigby Entertainment at the La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts, 14900 La Mirada Blvd., La Mirada. Tue.-Thu. 7:30 p.m., Fri. 8 p.m., Sat. 2 & 8 p.m., Sun. 2 & 7 p.m. Jun. 1-17. (562) 944-9801. www.lamiradatheatre.com.