Poor Behavior *

Primary Stages' first play of the season is now in previews at its new home at The Duke on 42nd Street. If you crave 2+ hours of arguing, bickering, shouting and throwing tantrums, punctuated only by chunks of pseudophilosophical blather and a few feeble attempts at humor, this is the play for you. Two childless married couples, probably in their late thirties and wed for about a decade, are gathered at the vacation home of one of the couples for a weekend in the country. The hosts, Peter (Jeff Biehl) and Ella (Katie Kreisler), seem relatively sane and happy, at least compared to the other couple. Ian (Brian Avers) is an abrasive Irishman who may have married the hysterical Maureen (Heidi Armbruster) either for her money or a green card. After a long night of drinking, Maureen makes an accusation of infidelity which leads to serious consequences. There is much talk about the nature of "good." The actors did not dishonor themselves coping with this less than stellar material, although Avers shouted louder than necessary much of the time. Lauren Helpern's set of the kitchen, dining nook and entryway of the house was quite attractive and looked lived in. Jessica Pabst's costumes were apt. I find it hard to judge Evan Cabnet's direction, because Theresa Rebeck's script presents so many problems. Rebeck, whose work includes Mauritius, Seminar, and Our House, has the rare distinction of being the playwright whose latest play I always like less than the previous one. Running time: 2 hours, 10 minutes including intermission.

Seminar ***

(Always click on the title to see the complete review!)
Theresa Rebeck's new play at the Golden is a guilty pleasure. If you stop to analyze it for even a moment, the plot is full of implausibilities and contrivances, but, for me at least, they were more than compensated by a terrific cast, some very funny dialogue, and a first-rate production. Alan Rickman stars as Leonard, a famous writer/editor, both sinister and sexy, who has been paid $20,000 to lead a 10-week writing seminar for four budding writers: Kate (Lily Rabe), Martin (Hamish Linklater), Douglas (Jerry O'Connell) and Izzy (Etienne Park). Each of the four has a somewhat stereotypical set of traits. The group banter is entertaining for a while. Then Leonard arrives with his take-no-prisoners critique of their writing. Egos are bruised, sheets are rumpled, careers are molded. Since onstage nudity is almost de rigeur these days, Etienne displays her lovely breasts. The focus of the play wavers and finally settles on Martin, who has thus far been unwilling to submit his work for critique. The role of Leonard is hardly a stretch for Rickman, but he handles it with subtlety. The other cast members are excellent, the direction by Sam Gold is fine, and the sets and costumes by the ubiquitous David Zinn are wonderful. There is a moment (when some of the audience thought the play had ended) when the entire set flies upward to reveal a terrific new set underneath. It's not great theater, but it's entertaining. The audience loved it. Running time: 100 minutes; no intermission.