The Things We Do
Reviewed by Iris Mann
Odyssey Theatre Ensemble
Through May 12
A visiting production at the Odyssey Theatre, Grant Woods’ new play about adultery and middle-aged couples at a crossroads ostensibly segues from light-hearted comedy to more serious drama. Unfortunately, the comedic section has none of the delicious humor of such iconic plays about infidelity as The Seven Year Itch or The Last of the Red Hot Lovers, while the darker segment lacks the heft of such dramas as Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? or A Delicate Balance.
What we are presented with instead is an outline of such familiar topics as unfaithfulness, boredom, disappointment, reassessment, an empty nest, etc., none of which are explored deeply enough. In addition, Woods tends to have his characters state the themes of his play, rather than having them emerge through the action and interaction.
The playwright himself has an interesting background: he was Arizona’s attorney general from 1991 to 1999, and served as the late Senator John McCain’s chief of staff, delivering the first eulogy at the senator’s funeral. Accordingly, he has included some friendly political back-and-forth between two of the play’s four characters, one a conservative, and the other a liberal. The banter is mildly amusing, but expendable.
Set in Santa Monica and Malibu in 2015, the play begins with a monologue addressed to the audience by Bill (Blake Boyd), who skirts taking responsibility for his affair with the sexually aggressive Sara (Marlene Galan). In order to end their respective marriages blamelessly, the lovers hatch a plot to introduce Bill’s wife Alice (Liesel Kopp) to Sara’s realtor husband Ted (Stephen Rockwell), in the hope that the two innocents will fall in love and want to be together, leaving Bill and Sara free to get divorces and enter into a more permanent bond. But the ruse falls flat, largely due to the unknowingly cuckolded and principled spouses, particularly Alice, who declines to be unfaithful. (Handled differently, the ruse could be infectiously amusing, but in the play’s current context it is merely boring.) Ultimately, when secrets are revealed, each of the characters must find a way to move forward.
Given the play’s weaknesses, director Elina de Santos and her cast do the best work possible. De Santos has staged the action so deftly that a steady pace is maintained. It is even more praiseworthy, that, under her guidance, each of the characters comes across as an individual, totally distinct from the others.
Boyd completely immerses himself in his role, personifying a weak, bumbling, cheater who blames others for his deception. He also contributes some of the play’s rare, genuinely comedic touches. And, instead of a sensual seductress, Golan makes Sara a bouncing, enthusiastically (if somewhat extremely) sexed woman who proves to be deeply unsatisfied and lonely at her core. Golan also does as well as she can with her character’s suddenly attained wisdom at the story’s end.
Kopp and Rockwell play the most sympathetic characters. Rockwell’s Ted, who is every inch a real estate salesman, projects a fundamental decency when he tells his wife he is strong enough to get past her betrayal. That encounter provides one of the more moving moments of the evening. Likewise, Kopp’s Alice proves touching in her ability to introspect and realistically assess her marriage. Kopp’s performance is composed of numerous colors, and her outrage at her husband’s affair contrasts admirably with her earlier, more benign demeanor.
Finally, Stephanie Kerley Schwartz’s sleek, smooth, minimal set lends the play a particularly fitting ambiance.
Odyssey Theatre, 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd., Sawtelle; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m.; through May 12. (310) 477-2055 x2 or www.OdysseyTheatre.com. Running time: 90 minutes with no intermission.
