Your Mother's Copy of the Kama Sutra **

Playwrights Horizons describes this new play by Kirk Lynn as a "tough-love comedy." So that's what it is? I never would have guessed with all the phony baloney goings on. I could barely get past the play's ridiculous premise -- that Carla (Zoe Sophia Garcia) will not marry Reggie (Chris Stack) unless he agrees to reenact their respective sexual histories "on" each other before they wed. She also does not want Reggie's ex, Tony (short for Antoinette, played by Rebecca Henderson), to be their best man. Got that? Alternating with scenes of these three adults are other ones involving three teenagers -- awkwardly intense Bernie (short for Bernadette, played by Ismenia Mendes);  Sean (Maxx Brawer), a shy boy who has a crush on her; and Cole (Will Pullen), a friend with suspect motives who suggests that Sean use a date-rape drug on her. The party they attend does not turn out well for them. The relationship between the two sets of characters is not revealed until the second act, which takes places 20 years after some, but not all, of the action in act one. The tough love comes then when we learn that it is hard to be a single parent with a teenager. The play is a literal mess as well as a figurative one -- the stage is regularly littered with clothes, books, beer cans, the contents of a purse, etc. for reasons that escaped me. Why two of the three females have boys' nicknames was also a mystery. Any relation the titillating title has to the play is faint and forced. What I was left with was a craving for lasagna, which is mentioned several times during the play. Laura Jellinek's set is appropriately dreary. Emily Rebholz's costumes are apt. Anne Kauffman, whose direction I have enjoyed twice before, does not shine here. Running time: 2 hours 20 minutes including intermission.

Don't Go Gentle ***

Stephen Belber's new family drama, now in previews in an MCC production at the Lucille Lortel Theatre, raises several interesting questions: Can a conservative retired judge (Michael Crsitofer) recovering from cancer surgery still atone for his past mistakes and find some sort of redemption? Should his remaining time be devoted to repairing the toxic relationships with his adult children -- a divorced, unemployed, recovering addict son (David Wilson Barnes) and an ostensibly successful daughter (Jennifer Mudge) whose lifetime efforts to be family peacemaker have left her with a drinking problem? Or would his time be better spent trying to improve the lives of a black woman (Angela Lewis), whose pro bono case he has taken, and her sullen 16-year-old son (Maxx Brawer)? Can we each learn from our own history or are we condemned to repeat our mistakes? Belber skillfully creates crisp dialogue and complex characters who elicit both sympathy and antipathy. Parts of the plot may be implausible, but are nevertheless dramatically rewarding. The acting is strong, although Brawer looks too old for his part. Lucie Tiberghien's direction keeps things moving along briskly. Robin Vest's set evocatively suggests a prosperous home furnished long ago. Jenny Mannis' costumes are appropriate to their characters. It didn't leave me feeling happier or wiser, but glad I had seen it. Running time: 90 minutes without intermission.