I must really like Charlotte Cohn, my NYC neighbor.

Wednesday night we made the trek from Pacific Palisades to Burbank to see her starring in a charming play, Handle With Care. It recently had a very successful run Off-Broadway.

I know. If you live on the westside of Los Angeles it is a journey…approximately 22 miles and a projected 44 minutes. On LA freeways during rush hour it took almost two hours to meander up crowded Sunset Boulevard to the 405, up and over the hill to the 101 North and then play bumper tag to the 134 East.

One hour and 53 minutes later we pulled into the Colony parking lot. You definitely are able to drive from southern Connecticut to the Massachusetts border in the same amount of time.

I have to admit seeing the talented Charlotte Cohn breathing life into the character of Israeli tourist, Ayelet, was worth the drive.

The Colony Theatre is a charming throwback to the productive days of regional theater. I am happy to announce that it is alive and well in Burbank.

Devil worshippers, it is your responsibility to get off your butt and support this entertaining play. The ticket pricing is very reasonable considering the quality of the material and talented cast. Every seat is fabulous.

There was an addiional incentive to attend, Handle With Care. Jason Odell Williams, the playwright, is also our NYC neighbor and the ying to Charlotte Cohn’s yang.

Jason, my husband and I had an anniversary of sorts this week. It was two years ago this week that we met on the sidewalk on Election Day 2012. We stood for 90 minutes, waiting to vote. Jason was accompanied by his young daughter, providing a civics lesson in the responsibility of every American citizen to vote.

We were engaged the entire time and discovered we literally lived next door to each other and so our lives were permanently geographically entwined.

Jason is a talented playwright. In fact, Handle With Care is being simultaneously performed on four stages across the country. He is also a writer/producer on the hit TV series, Brain Games on National Geographic Channel. His first novel, Personal Statement, has been optioned for a three-picture deal.

Karen Carpenter deftly directed both this production as well as the Off-Broadway production of,  Handle With Care. She also directed the smash hit, Love Loss and What I Wore. Carpenter spent five seasons as Associate Artistic Director at the Old Globe.

Handle With Care proves that the possibility of love can happen anywhere.

It is Christmas Eve 2008 in a seedy Virginia motel (the scenic designer captures the Motel 6 style room perfectly) where fate and bizarre circumstances bring together a young attractive Israeli who barely speaks Englsih and a handsome American who has recently experienced a loss and has little interest in romance.

Is Handle With Care about destiny that has been generations in the making…buy a ticket and find out.

Charlotte is stunning in the play…a compelling talent. The supporting cast is also accomplished and gifted.

Charlotte has performed in La Boheme directed by Baz Luhrmann and has had an extensive acting and producing resume. She was born in Denmark and grew up in Israel, rising through the ranks of the Israeli army to Lieutenant.

The supporting cast members include Jeff Marlowe as the endearingly annoying pedestrian Terrence, handsome, empathetic Tyler Pierce as Josh and Marcia Rodd as  Bubbie Edna.

Make the effort. There is such a lack of original theatre in LA. Handle With Care successfully appeared Off-Broadway and the heartwarming romantic comedy garnered rave reviews. The New York Times wrote, “Mr. Williams has achieved something special: He has written a Jewish Christmas story.”

Make an afternoon of it. The theatre is around the corner from IKEA. We arrived 90 minutes before performance and were able to stock our new, but still unusable kitchen with dishes, flatware, glasses, pots, towels for $120.

Pop into Chevys Fresh Mex across the street and indulge in a Blue Moon draft beer and quench your thirst from shopping at IKEA. Chevys also has the best salsa and chips. Parking is free everywhere.

Such a deal even enduring bumper to bumper traffic and we got cultured.

Put Handle With Care on your shopping list.

Handle With Care runs through December 14th at the Colony Theatre 555 North Third Street, Burbank. www.colonytheatre.org. Free parking lot attached to the theatre. Running time is 2 hours with a 15 minute intermission. Preformances Thursday-Saturday 8pm, Matinees Saturday at 3pm and Sunday at 2pm. Tickets range from $25-$55.