Beyond Therapy
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Cititour.com Review
With the success of last year's Tony Award-winning play, "Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike," some audiences have belatedly discovered the offbeat humor of playwright Christopher Durang, while others have gained a renewed appreciation for this singular author's work. For that reason alone, we can be grateful that TACT is presenting the first major NYC revival of his bittersweet 1981 comedy "Beyond Therapy," at Theatre Row's Beckett Theatre. And while Scott Alan Evans' production could use a bit more zip in some scenes, there's plenty of laughs to be had in this 100-minute romp.
The play begins with a disastrous first date between Bruce (a winning Mark Alhadeff), a 30something, admitted bisexual who has placed a personal ad to meet a woman, and Prudence (the lovely, surprisingly funny Liv Rooth), a somewhat uptight writer for "People" who has had little luck with romantic relationships. Bruce's interpersonal skills are problematic, to say the least, and Durang wrings some hearty chuckles out of the inappropriate things that come out of Bruce's mouth, as well as Prudence's befuddled and sometimes equally inappropriate responses. That these two people will eventually go on another "blind date" with each other -- not to mention enter into an actual relationship -- can hardly be predicted from the opening scene.
Ultimately, though Prudence even manages to deal with (sort of) Bruce's pecadillos, such as his frequent crying fits. She has a bit more trouble navigating the unexpected presence of Bruce's longtime lover Bob (played with delicious neuroticism by Jeffrey Hawkins) when she is invited to Bruce's apartment for dinner. And even harder to handle is Bob's intrusive, showtune-loving mother Sadie, even though she's an offstage presence represented only by a series of a phone calls!
While the burgeoning couple's "romance" is the centerpiece of the work, Durang has the most fun with the pair's therapists. Prudence has been briefly seeing -- and already had a two-night stand with -- Dr. Stuart Framingham (Karl Kenzler), an overly needy, macho-posturing buffoon who takes offense at being called a "premature ejaculator". Meanwhile, Bruce is in the dubious care of Mrs. Wallace (a lively, scene-stealing Cynthia Darlow), who has trouble remembering the right words for things like secretary, mixes up her patients, and believes way too strongly in the philosophy of Dr. Alan Strang (the fictional psychologist of the play "Equus"). Seeing these two on stage, one might have second thoughts about ever entering a therapist's office.
In the final scene of the play, Durang brilliantly maneuvers to get all of these people in the same room: the restaurant where Prudence and Bruce first met. Not surprisingly everything goes completely to hell before things are made semi-slightly right for some of the characters (including the previously unseen waiter Andrew, played smartly by Michael Schantz), and some are left in tears. The audience, however, leaves with a smile on its face.
By Brian Scott Lipton
Visit the Site
http://www.theatrerow.org/thebeckett.htm
Cast
Mark Alhadeff, Cynthia Darlow, Jeffrey C. Hawkins, Karl Kenzler, Liv Rooth, Michael Schantz
Open/Close Dates
Opening 3/11/2014
Closing 4/19/2014
Theatre Info
Beckett Theatre
410 West 42nd Street
New York, NY 10036
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