Theater Review: Westport Country Playhouse: THE THINGS WE DO FOR LOVE

Westport Country Playhouse brings on the laughs with a decidedly dark comedy, The Things We Do for Love by Alan Ayckbourn. Directed by John Tillinger, this tale of love and lust wildly demonstrates the effects of "fools rushing in," and mines guilty and often uncomfortable laughs from the human foibles and failures of obsession, infidelity, domestic abuse, and stereotypes. Each of the characters on this rocky road to love starts out with some form of social malady leaving you to wonder if love makes you crazy or if only crazy people fall in love.

Much has been said about the unique setting of this show. The Things We Do For Love takes place on three floors of the same house. Set designer James Noone impresses with his vision of this home: a smartly furnished main floor and partial views of the top floor and basement. How much you can see of the basement floor depends on where you are sitting. I sat towards the back of the theater and did not even know that the bottom floor was furnished until I walked up to the stage at intermission. Not being able to fully see the floor did not detract from the play however, because the script and the actors conveyed all I needed to know about what was going on down there. Laurie Churba Kohn's chic costumes and Paul Miller's lighting were also impressive, adding to this unique production.

The cast is superb at bringing their character's personality quirks to life. Geneva Carr excellently plays Barbara, a single, successful assistant who lives an orderly, but solitary life. She is slightly obsessed with her married boss and is threatened by her younger and prettier little coworkers. But she runs and owns her own home, seemingly thrives on doing everything herself, and relies on no one. That is except for her downstairs boarder, Gilbert. 

Gilbert, sympathetically portrayed by Michael Mastro, is a seemingly intellectually slow widower, but good to have around to help Barbara with simple household chores like fixing the heating and taking her excess clothes out for donation. Gilbert is devoted to Barbara, despite the fact that she barely notices him beyond the little things he can do for her. But Gilbert harbors a secret obsession with his landlady.  Unbeknownst to Barbara, he paints a giant nude picture of her on his ceiling, and instead of donating her clothes, holds on to them for...well...you can guess. Part of the genius of his character, and Mr. Mastro's portrayal is that audiences do sympathize with him for his slowness and his unrequited devotion to someone who barely acknowledges him before we learn that he really is an obsessive creeper/stalker who any sane person would want out of her home.

Turning Barbara and Gilbert's already unbalanced world out of whack are Barbara's former schoolmate, Nikki, played by Sarah Manton, and Nikki's fiance Hamish, played by Matthew Greer. Barbara rents the upstairs apartment to the couple while their new home is being renovated. Sarah Manton's Nikki is a vulnerable young women filled with self-doubt and low self esteem, after just coming out of an abusive relationship. She looks to Barbara for advice and clings to her fiance because she is too afraid to face life on her own. Hamish abandoned his own marriage to take up with Nikki. Outwardly this couple is too cute to bear, publicly displaying their cloying, babyish greetings to each other when they meet at the door or say goodbye. Barbara immediately takes a dislike to Hamish and to the intrusion of this sickeningly sweet couple into her singular life.

L-R Geneva Carr, Sarah Manton, Matthew Greer and Michael Mastro in
Alan Ayckbourn's "Things We Do for Love" at Westport Country Playhouse
Photo by Carol Rosegg

This houseful of dysfunction becomes a powder keg of insecurities, thinly veiled and sometimes open hostilities. and eventually combusts when fueled by life disappointments, real or imagined sleights, alcohol, and lust. But instead of going for the melodramatic, Ayckbourn's brilliant script goes for hilarity in furtive glances, passionate embraces (with one unnecessary nude sex scene; I wish Westport Country Playhouse would acknowledge the value of a well placed sheet), comic fist fights and confused characters. When the dust settles, friendships are severed, a couple still remains, and a desperate though somewhat tamed stalker still lives in the basement. It is difficult to predict a happy ever after for the characters in this show but in the long run, we get an absurd and entertaining look at crazy, stupid love.

Hurry if you want to see this show.  The Things We Do for Love runs only through September 7th at Westport Country Playhouse.