The Qualms
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Cititour.com Review
No contemporary playwright has taken a scalpel to the so-called morality and hypocrisy of modern-day America with the same efficiency – never mind, glee – as Bruce Norris. His newest work, “The Qualms,” now at Playwrights Horizons, may not be as razor-sharp as “Clybourne Park” (which rightly earned him the Pulitzer Prize) or “The Pain and the Itch,” but it nevertheless cuts cleanly through our conflicted (and conflicting) mores about sexuality. And Pam MacKinnon’s eagle-eyed direction and the outstanding work of this ensemble elevate even the weakest moments of the 90-minute proceedings.
Into Todd Rosenthal’s prop-filled, stunningly-designed beachfront condo come four couples (only one of whom are actually married) who have gathered for a barbecue/swinger’s party. The hosts, Gary, a somewhat pretentious aging pseudo-hippie (superbly rendered by John Procaccino), and Teri, a sweet if air-headed massage therapist (the sublime Kate Arrington), have invited two newcomers they met on a trip to Mexico: the lovely, ultimately game Kristy (a fine Sarah Goldberg), who becomes the object of everyone’s affections, and her husband, Chris, an uptight investment banker (the truly outstanding Jeremy Shamos), who mixes with the group like oil and water.
As the evening unhappily progresses, Chris – who is nervous from the get-go and carrying a chip on his shoulder from something Kristy has recently done – questions, challenges, and ultimately denigrates everyone else in the room: Roger (Noah Emmerich), a macho blowhard who seems more interested in liquor than anyone in the room, his lover Regine (the enticing Chinasa Ogbuagu), a commanding, no-nonsense Black woman who was raised in France, Deb (the scene-stealing Donna Lynne Champlin), an overweight middle-aged woman who wears her insecurity on her sleeve, and her much younger lover, Ken (Andy Lucien), an African-American with a killer bod and slightly flamboyant manner.
Shamos, one of our most consistently excellent theater actors, never shies away from Chris’ basic unlikability, whether he’s trying to force the unnecessarily expensive bottle of Cabernet he’s brought on his uninterested companions, to treating Kristy like chattel, deliberately hurting Deb’s feelings, or calling Ken a “faggot.” He’s a grade-A asshole, who can’t even make an apology without backpedaling two seconds later. But it’s part of Norris’ genius that Chris also makes some very salient points about his fellow partygoers -- a mostly obnoxious bunch -- and their self-proclaimed superiority about their lifestyle, especially when Norris reveals just how tame their “experimentation” really is, and how basically conventional they all are, no matter what they show on the surface.
Interestingly (and to some disappointingly), Norris does all this without a single bit of nudity, and no more four-letter words than your average episode of an HBO show. So only the most prudish audience members should have even the slightest qualms about experiencing this provocative play.
By Brian Scott Lipton
Visit the Site
http://www.playwrightshorizons.org/shows/plays/qualms
Cast
Kate Arrington, Donna Lynne Champlin, Noah Emmerich, Sarah Goldberg, Julian Leong, Andy Lucien, Chinasa Ogbuagu, John Procaccino, Jeremy Shamos
Open/Close Dates
Opening 5/22/2015
Closing 7/12/2015
Box Office
212-279-4200
Theatre Info
Playwrights Horizons
416 West 42nd Street
New York, NY 10036
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