The Rape of the Sabine Women, by Grace B. Mathias

C+

The idea of a dark comedy about rape written by a gay male playwright did not exactly sound promising. Nevertheless, this ambitious, quirky work by Michael Yates Crowley now at Playwrights Realm turned out to hold greater interest than I expected. Grace (Susannah Perkins; The Wolves), a 15-year-old at Springfield High School, is almost a female version of Evan Hansen, socially awkward, with an overworked single mom, and overwhelmed by the events around her. The aftermath of a drunken night with Jeff (Doug Harris), tight end of the school’s football team (the Romans, of course!), recalls the notorious Steubenville case in which more public concern was expressed for the rapists’ ruined future than for the victim. Crowley introduces us to the local newsman (Chas Carey), the guidance counselor (Eva Kaminsky; The Lyons), the lawyer (Jeff Biehl; Poor Behavior), the teacher (Andy Lucien; The Qualms), Grace’s friend Monica (Jeena Yi), and  Bobby (Alex Breaux; Red Speedo), the Romans’ captain with a homoerotic attachment to Jeff. We also meet other townspeople including Jeff’s father - the town’s fire chief, a few fireman, a few football players, a preacher and a doctor. Grace becomes obsessed with the titular painting by David, so we also meet a few Romans and Sabines including Romulus and his wife Hersilia. Much of the play is structured around a court appearance by Grace, which fuels reenactments of past events. The playwright attempts to comment on our hypocritical hyper-sexualized “rape culture,” but his adults are often such cartoon characters that he subverts the message. For me, the impact was also lessened by the ambiguousness of Grace’s experience. Perhaps the point was that rape exists in many forms. An extended metaphor about a coal fire burning beneath the town and the fire burning in men's hearts that leads to rape is tied to Grace's ambition to be a fireman. Grace’s stylized class report on the David painting concludes the play. Arnulfo Maldonado’s set vividly recreates a high school auditorium/gymnasium. Some of Asta Bennie Hostetter’s costumes are a hoot. Tyne Rafaeli’s direction successfully navigates the play’s complex path. While the play tries to do too much and doesn’t fully integrate its various strands, it is an original. Crowley shows promise and I look forward to his next play. Running time: 2 hours including intermission.

The Qualms ****

With this comedy, now in previews at Playwrights Horizons, Bruce Norris (The Pain and the Itch, Clybourne Park, Domesticated) once again demonstrates that he is one of our most consistently entertaining playwrights. His depiction of a swingers’ party that goes awry is hysterically funny, occasionally touching, and uncomfortably perceptive about the foibles of human sexuality and other social behavior. For reasons that are a bit implausible, investment banker Chris (the always reliable Jeremy Shamos) has accepted an invitation to attend a swingers’ party with his attractive wife Kristy (Sarah Goldberg) at the home of Gary (John Procaccino) and his sexy but slightly dim partner Teri (the superb Kate Arrington), whom they had met on vacation. Gary argues at length about the unnaturalness of monogamy. They are joined by the plus-size Deb (the delightful Donna Lynn Champlin) and her younger black lover Ken (Andy Lucien) who combines an ultra-buff body with  a touch of swish. Last to arrive are Regine (Chinasa Ogbuagu), a sultry beauty from Martinique, and Roger (the fine Noah Emmerich), an ex-military libertarian. There’s also a delivery guy (Julian Leong) who earns laughs without saying a word. Chris quickly develops misgivings about being at the party and provokes the others by expressing unfashionably conservative views. His increasingly obnoxious behavior is a buzz-kill for the evening’s anticipated amorous adventures. Norris skillfully uses both overlapping dialog and the absence of dialog. A long silent scene near the end of the play is powerful in its impact. There's a momentary breach of the fourth wall that is very effective too. Director Pam MacKinnon manages all the action with aplomb. Todd Rosenthal has designed a condo living room that looks authentic and lived in. Jessica Pabst’s costumes are spot-on. Some may dismiss the play as lightweight, but I think there are some thought-provoking ideas lurking behind the humor. Besides, it was so funny that I wasn’t really looking for gravitas. Running time: 95 minutes, no intermission.