Therese Raquin **

The best reason to see this Roundabout production, an uneven adaptation of Zola’s 1867 novel by British playwright Helen Edmundson, is the spectacular set design by Beowulf Boritt. From the simple suggestion of a village cottage to a fully detailed sepulchral Paris apartment that falls from above as if to crush the characters to a skylit attic suspended in the night sky to a riverbank complete with water and rowboat, he sets the right note for this tale of limited choices, adultery, murder and guilt. His sets at least give you a focus for your attention during the glacially paced first act. As the title character, Keira Knightley doesn’t get to do much except stare soulfully during the first half hour. The always watchable Judith Light is fine as her aunt and soon-to-be mother-in-law. It is easy to understand why Therese is repelled by her sickly, spoiled cousin-then-husband Camille (Gabriel Ebert) and even easier to understand why she is magnetically attracted to his childhood chum Laurent (Matt Ryan) whom Camille runs into in Paris and, unfortunately for him, brings home to meet the family. Their sex scenes are brief and brutish.The habitués of Madame Raquin’s Thursday domino sessions — Monsieur Grivet (Jeff Still), Superintendent Michaud (David Patrick Kelly) snd his niece Suzanne (Mary Wiseman) — do not get much development. The pace picks up from late in the first act to midway through the second act. The subsequent descent into guilt and madness seemed anticlimactic. The use of many brief scenes seemed more suitable for film than the stage. Jane Greenwood’s costumes are appropriate. Keith Parham’s lighting is excellent. I did not care for the sound design and music by Josh Schmidt. The suggestions of Camille’s continued presence seemed out of a B movie. Director Evan Cabnet really should have picked up the pace a bit during the play’s early scenes. My interest lagged, but I really liked the sets. Running time: 2 hours 30 minutes including intermission. On the afternoon I attended, the performance was followed by a 25-minute Q&A with five of the actors which I enjoyed more than the play.

Off the Main Road -- at Williamstown Theatre Festival ***

For her first production, Williamstown Theatre Festival’s new artistic director Mindy Greenfield has made an interesting choice — presenting the world premiere of a William Inge play written in the 1960’s but never staged. It is hard to believe now that Inge was once mentioned in the same breath as Arthur Miller and Tennessee Williams as one of our top playwrights. His reputation fell far and fast. Although conventional wisdom has it that most lost plays have been lost for good reason, WTF was smart to bring this deeply flawed but rarely dull play to the stage. It presents both Inge’s strengths — astute observation of Midwesterners and vivid portraits of female characters — and his weaknesses — unconvincing male characters and a penchant for melodrama. Kyra Sedgwick plays Faye Garrit. While still in her teens, she was forced by her overbearing mother (played by Estelle Parsons, amazing at 87) to marry a wealthy older man. Upon his death, to her mother’s horror, she met and married a popular baseball player Manny Garrit (Jeremy Davidson). Now, 10 years later, Manny is no longer a player and sometimes becomes abusive when he drinks. As the play opens, after getting a black eye from Manny, she has fled to a resort cabin not far from the city with Julia (an excellent Mary Wiseman), her daughter from her first marriage, who is attending a convent school. Sparks fly between Julia and Vic Burns (a fine Daniel Sharman), son of the landlady (Becky Ann Baker, virtually wasted here). Faye often spends time with a gay art dealer Jimmy Woodford (Howard W. Overshown), a friend since childhood. Faye’s impulsive fling with an oversexed taxi driver, Gino (Aaron Costa Ganis), has unanticipated consequences. Kyra Sedgwick has too strong a personality to easily play an aimless, indecisive woman, but she does her best. The play has some humorous moments, some of which were probably unintentional. The idea that a domineering mother would produce a daughter who becomes a neglectful mother whose own daughter develops a deep hunger for certainty in her life seemed psychologically convincing. I wish the play hadn’t descended into overwrought melodrama, but that’s Inge for you. The set design by Takeshi Kata and costumes by Paloma Young are fine. Evan Cabnet’s direction is assured. Running time 2 hours 10 minutes including intermission. (Closed)