Log Cabin

B-

Jordan Harrison’s (Marjorie Prime; The Amateurs) new comedy of manners at Playwrights Horizons is quite entertaining, but not all that coherent. The title, which led me to expect a play about LGBT Republicans, is misleading. While the two privileged couples, one lesbian and the other gay, at the center of the play may have become too comfortable with their recently won gains, I doubt that any of them is a card-carrying Log Cabin member. When we first meet them, the acerbic Jules, as in Julia, (Dolly Wells; The Whirligig) and the laconic Pam (Cindy Cheung; Iowa, Middletown) are entertaining their gay friends, the wise-cracking, overbearing Ezra (Jesse Tyler Ferguson; On the Town, Fully Committed), who is never without a quip, and his African-American husband Chris (Phillip James Brannon; Bootycandy, The City of Conversation). Jules and Pam decide to have a child. Chris wants one, but Ezra does not. A year after their son Hartley is born, the lesbians are once again entertaining in their spacious Brooklyn brownstone apartment. The two couples are joined by Ezra’s old friend Henry f/k/a Helen (Ian Harvie (“Transparent”), who 20 years before was Ezra's prom date, and Henry’s young hippy-dippy girlfriend Myna (Talene Monahon; Bobbie Clearly), who prefers dating trans men. After a few mojitos, the fractures among those present rise to the surface. Henry is upset that privileged LGBT people can be hurtful to marginalized trans people. As a black man, Chris argues that he often feels marginalized. Myna is appalled at everyone’s materialism. A conversation overheard on Hartley’s baby monitor fans the flames. We rejoin the group on Hartley’s birthday party over the next few years. The plot takes a turn that I found totally preposterous which I will not spoil for you. Nor will I say more about an amusing surrealist development that comes as a delightful surprise. While some of the many issues touched upon are specific to LGBT people, others — the difficulty of maintaining long-term relationships, adjusting to parenthood, being accepting of differences — are universal. The entire cast is very good. While I always enjoy seeing Jesse Tyler Ferguson, I would like to see him in a role that is not so completely within his comfort zone; I fear he is becoming stereotyped. The set by Allen Moyer (Grey Gardens, The Lyons) is a revolving wonder. Jessica Pabst’s (The Profane, Marvin’s Room) costumes are just right for each character. Pam MacKinnon (Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Clybourne Park) directs with her usual assurance. I enjoyed the play, but I felt it skimmed the surface of too many topics without going very deeply into any of them. Running time: one hour 35 minutes; no intermission.

Iowa ***

Playwright Jenny Schwartz combines a quirky sensibility with a marvelous facility for language. Her characters speak in riffs and arias. When she is at her best (God’s Ear), the results are wonderful, but on an off-day (Somewhere Fun), they can be dreadful. While her new absurdist comedy with music, now in previews at Playwrights Horizons, does not reach the heights of “God’s Ear,” it has some very good moments. Becca (Jill Shackner) is a 14-year-old who must abruptly leave her high school to move to Iowa, where her mother Sandy’s (the hilarious Karen Quackenbush) Facebook fiancé Roger (Lee Sellars) lives. After an opening song by a child (Kolette Tetlow) whose identity is not immediately revealed, there are about 20 minutes before we hear the next song. Fortunately, this time is mostly filled by a virtually non-stop wacky monologue by Sandy. I was almost sorry when it ended and the music resumed. Early on we meet Becca’s sole friend Amanda (Carolina Sanchez), a misunderstood cheerleader (Annie McNamara), four versions of Nancy Drew including one who is African-American (April Matthis), Becca’s remote father Jim (Sellars again) and his pregnant girlfriend Liz (CIndy Cheung), Becca’s math teacher Mr. Hill, on whom she has a crush (Sellars once more) and a randy singing pony (Sellars yet again). The frequency and importance of the songs (music by Todd Almond, lyrics by Almond and Schwartz) picks up as the play progresses. A trio of piano, viola and bass produces a lovely sound soft enough to avoid the need to mic the singers. About 2/3 of the way through the play, Becca and Sandy reach Iowa. The mood abruptly shifts and, for me, the play lost much of its vitality. I did not care for the Iowa scenes, but they did not seriously diminish my appreciation for what came before. The scenic design by Dane Laffrey is simple but effective. Arnulfo Maldonado’s costumes are delightful. Ken Rus Schmoll’s direction is assured. Schwartz has an original voice and it was good to see her work again. Running time: 1 hour 40 minutes, no intermission.