by Joan Alperin
Every so often you go the theatre and get pleasantly surprised by what you are seeing on stage. That's exactly what happened to me when I attended the opening of a brand-new play at Zephyr Theatre.
Married People: A Comedy is an extremely funny play that not only will make you laugh out loud, but will also touch your heart. Yes, it's about marriage, but it's also about friendship, parenthood, and realizing that sometimes you just have to let go of your beliefs in order to save what is most important to in your life.
When the play opens, we meet two married couples; Aviva (Michelle Bernard) and her husband Jake (Andy Lauer), and Henry (Paul Parducci) and Cookie (Kylie Delre). They are best friends and all four of them are in the midst of midlife crises. To say their marriages appear to be sliding downhill is an understatement.
Both couples have sons. Henry and Cookie's son is gay, and they are having trouble coming to terms with it because they're Catholic. Aviva and Jake's son has given up his Jewish heritage to marry out of the faith. This is especially hurtful to Aviva whose maternal and paternal grandparents died in the holocaust.
Of course, these aren't their only problems. Intimacy and sex (or rather lack of) are running themes throughout the play. Jake constantly complains about not "getting any" and Henry's nasty hygienic habits making him less and less attractive to Cookie. I mean who wants to sleep with a guy that blows his nose in his socks (and that's not the worst of it).
Written by veteran comedy writers Steve Shaffer and Mark Schiff, Married People takes us on a hysterically funny, and surprisingly poignant journey through the institution of marriage and the difficulties of having a relationship in the 21st century.
Director Rick Shaw gets perfect performances from all four actor's, but I have to say as good as they all are, Andy Lauer (a former regular on "Caroline in the City") is an absolute standout. This is a must see play for anyone who has ever been in a relationship or for people just wanting to have a great night at the theatre.
Married People: A Comedy runs through Sunday, April 2, 2017. Performances are Fridays at 8pm; Saturdays at 8:30pm and Sundays at 2pm.
Get your tickets here.