First the good news: this latest offering by Primary Stages offers the opportunity to see Tyne Daly (Gypsy, Master Class, “Cagney and Lacey”) and her brother Tim (Coastal Disturbances, “Madame Secretary”) together onstage for the first time in New York, both playing roles that cast them against type. Tim, usually a suave charmer, plays Teddy, a middle-aged man with a fragile grip on reality that may be the result of paranoia. Tyne, usually the smart, strong woman, plays Irene, a timid, depressive housewife who lives in fear of her horrible husband Gerry (John Procaccino; Our Mother’s Brief Affair, Nikolai and the Others). The bad news is that the play is by Theresa Rebeck (Bernhardt/Hamlet, Poor Behavior), a playwright whose ability to get her work produced no matter how many disappointing plays she writes never fails to amaze me. Add another disappointment to the list. Despite a interesting premise — Teddy is temporarily occupying a beat-up couch in Irene’s basement against the wishes of her tyrannical husband — the play mostly spins its wheels and dissipates what little tension it builds up well before it finally ends. If there was any point to it, it was lost on me. Despite fine performances by all three actors, I found myself losing interest and patience early on. The slack direction by Adrienne Campbell-Holt (Thirst, Zürich) didn't help either. I did like Narelle Sissons’s (All My Sons, In the Blood) meticulously detailed, dingy, unfinished basement set and Sarah Laux's (The Band's Visit, The Humans) evocative costumes. I admire the Dalys for trying something different, but wish it had turned out better. Running time: one hour 45 minutes, no intermission.
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