The Marriage Zone

Shelly Snellman, Ben Scattone, Corbin Timbrook, Kelly DeSarla, Anthony Backman (Photo by Morgan Benson)

The play opens with a tongue-in-cheek reference to The Twilight Zone (enhanced by a black-and-white-and-gray set designed by Anthony Backman). The allusion is made so that we can accept that the visitors whom Beth (Kelly DeSarla) and her husband Cal (Anthony Backman) are hosting are indeed themselves — one couple from 20 years earlier (i1998) and the other from 20 years into the future (2038). The young, recently engaged couple Skip (Ben Scattone) and Ellie (Shelly Snellman) are in the early stages of mad love and can hardly keep their hands off each other. The older pair, Mike (Corbin Timbrook) and Liz (Tudi Roche), who are now divorced, are bitter and cynical.

As they snipe at each other, Mike and Liz reveal some details of why their marriage failed. We learn that their son Riley (Dylan Bowers) did not turn out quite the way they had hoped  —much to the dismay of both of the other couples as well. And Ellie questions whether she should marry Skip (and her hesitation sparks an unintended serious consequence). Beth is disturbed by this news — particularly given that her marriage to Cal is showing fissures —  but refuses to accept that divorce is in the cards. And she is desperate (for a very good reason that will not be revealed here) to convince Ellie that she must go ahead and marry Skip.

There are some funny bits throughout Marriage Zone, and the audience relished them. For  example, Skip (remember, he comes from 1998) is astonished and pleased to learn that the internet has porn on it. We’re also apprised that Justin Bieber is the U.S. president in 2038, despite being Canadian (which takes on a whole new meaning in the context of America today).

Nonetheless, the characters are two-dimensional and the play falls short in providing new insights into marriage. For example, there is dialogue about love changing over time and that there are no guarantees in marriage — not exactly groundbreaking observations. Also, the plot involves a very serious event that most of the characters take far too lightly, which is somewhat distracting.

Director Gould overall keeps the action moving well, but on opening night the pacing at times was a bit slow. The cast is adept in portraying their characters as written, but on opening night one had the sense that some of the actors hadn’t quite settled into their roles. These are easy fixes and will undoubtedly be remedied as the run continues.

(NOTE: The play is double cast.)