--------------------They're Beyond Normal
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An endearing venture into psychobabble and farce
By Michael Bracken
Michael Bracken is a freelance writer.
December 26, 2003
Crackpot characters notwithstanding, there's nothing dysfunctional about "Beyond Therapy," which debuted Off- Broadway in 1981 and opened last Friday at Arena Players Second Stage. Christopher Durang's pointed comedy about relationships and psychoanalysis is as fresh and smart as ever, crackling with witty wordplay and constantly surprising with its loopy logic.
Durang creates a reality that's a hilarious juxtaposition of seemingly matter-of-fact, if more than a little neurotic, normalcy and an almost existential absurdity. "Beyond Therapy" has a highly theatrical, non-naturalistic tone. Yet we relate to and care about its two lead characters, rooting for their mismatched romance through peals of laughter.
Uptight Prudence responds to not one, but two personal ads placed by bisexual Bruce. (Neither ad mentions his sexuality.) After an initial false start, they begin dating, much to the consternation of Bruce's lover, Bob, who wants Bruce to himself, and Prudence's therapist Stuart, who wants (and has had) Prudence. Not to worry. By the end of the evening just about everyone is under the analytical auspices of Bruce's therapist Charlotte, who repeatedly confuses the word "patient" with "porpoise" but still manages to point her charges in more or less the right direction.
Director Fred DeFeis matches Durang's fast pace and mostly makes good use of the limited space at Arena's Second Stage. His only misstep is a tendency to have characters move around too much - presumably to prevent the work from seeming static - in places like restaurants and therapists' offices, where just sitting still would seem more appropriate, even in the play's skewed universe.
The game cast works itself into a lather as it charges ahead through Durang's outrageous script. Kirsten Wylie is especially winning as Prudence. Her little-girl voice and demure demeanor make her discomfort with Bruce, who bursts into tears on a moment's notice, all the more affecting. James Duggan negotiates Bruce's sudden mood swings deftly and is usually very funny. But he occasionally comes across as prissy, lessening the contrast with both Prudence and his tightly wound live-in lover, Bob.
Eric Clavell is Bob, and he's a riot, especially when he covers his ears and sings "Frere Jacques" because he doesn't like what Bruce is telling him. Joan St. Onge represses nothing in the play's most broadly comic role, Charlotte, whose Snoopy doll barks out encouragement when one of her porpoises, I mean patients, makes a breakthrough.
Lou Lentino as Prudence's macho therapist with his own sexual issues claims it's sick to want sex to take a long time. And Nick Monroy rounds out the cast as a waiter and reform school graduate who flirts with Bob.
"Beyond Therapy" is a whimsical farce that goes beyond the limits of conventional comedy. The players at Arena go right along with it, achieving a comic catharsis for the audience, if not for the psychologically challenged characters they play.
REVIEW
BEYOND THERAPY. By Christopher Durang. Directed by Frederic DeFeis. At Arena Players Second Stage, 294 Rte. 109, East Farmingdale. Seen at last Friday's opening night performance. Continues through Jan. 25.
Copyright (c) 2003, Newsday, Inc.
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