The Confession of Lily Dare

B+

If you have a low tolerance for high camp and Charles Busch’s (The Divine Sister, Vampire Lesbians of Sodom, The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife) brand of female impersonation, you can skip this play and the rest of this review. If, on the other hand, you are a Busch devotee, you will want to hurry to the Cherry Lane Theatre for his newest play's Primary Stages premiere. My fears that Busch’s usual shtick might have gone stale by now proved unfounded. As both performer and playwright, he is in good form. In the words of the program, the title character, played by Busch of course, goes “from convent girl to cabaret chanteuse to infamous madame.” Busch has been very generous to the rest of the cast, particularly to Jennifer van Dyck (The Divine Sister, Two Shakespearean Actors) and Christopher Borg (Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind), both of whom get ample time to shine in multiple juicy roles. The other three actors only have a single role to fill. Nancy Anderson (Wonderful Town, A Class Act) and Kendal Sparks (Judith of Bethulia, Where’s Charley) are both fine as Lily’s longtime friends. The final cast member is none other than Howard McGillin (The Phantom of the Opera, Anything Goes), who fits right in as Lily’s suave nemesis. As in any Busch work, there is no shortage of laugh lines. Lily’s cabaret rendition of “Pirate Joe” is worth the price of admission. The action does lag occasionally; a slight trim would be beneficial. The costumes by Rachel Townsend and wigs by Katherine Carr are a show all by themselves. The set by Brian T. Whitehill (You Should Be So Lucky) is not at the same level, but good enough. Carl Andress (The Divine Sister, Die Mommie Die!) once again shows his talent for directing Busch’s work. Depending on your comfort level for camp, you will either be delighted or miserable. Running time: two hours including intermission.

Downstairs

C-

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.

Final Follies

B-

Primary Stages is celebrating its long association with the late A.R. Gurney with an evening of three of his one-act plays at the Cherry Lane Theatre. Each satirizes one of his favorite targets: the decline of WASPdom, suburban ennui and academic shenanigans. 

The first offering, the presciently titled “Final Follies,” was Gurney’s last work. In it, Nelson (Colin Hanlon; In Transit, Dot), a feckless WASP, applies for a job as a porn star rather than accept an allowance from his generous but controlling grandfather (Greg Mullavey; The Sisters Rosensweig, Clever Little Lies). Tanisha (Rachel Nicks; War, And I and Silence) is the attractive receptionist at the film studio’s office. Walter (Mark Junek; The Hairy Ape) is Nelson’s uptight brother, whose jealousy leads him to attempt to turn their grandfather against Nelson. The results are unexpected. It’s all quite amusing, if slight. 

The second play, “The Rape of Bunny Stuntz” from 1965, actually had its first production at the Cherry Lane. Bunny (Deborah Rush; Noises Off, The Last Days of Judas Iscariot) is a buttoned-down suburban matron who is about to chair the meeting of some unidentified self-help group. Things get off to a bad start when she can’t find the key to the metal box containing everything she needs for the meeting. Her two minions Howie Hale (Piter Marek; Disgraced, Cyrano de Bergerac) and Wilma Trumbo (Betsy Aidem; All the Way, Nikolai and the Others) are of little help to her when the attendees retire to the cafeteria for refreshments until Bunny is ready to start the meeting. An unseen menacing figure in a leather jacket lurks offstage claiming he has her key. Bunny offers possible explanations that grow ever more self-incriminating. The play never really takes off and was by far the weakest of the three. The uncannily timely thing about the play is that Bunny talks about the detailed calendar she keeps to document her every activity. Sound familiar?

After intermission, we get “The Love Course” from 1969, the longest and strongest of the three. We meet Professors Burgess (Mr. Marek) and Carroway (Ms. Aidem) at the final session of the course they have jointly taught, “The Literature of Love.” It will not be offered again because she is moving to Mt. Holyoke after being turned down for tenure while he is moving up into administration. Sally (Ms. Hicks), one of Prof. Carroway’s favorite students, has brought her boyfriend Mike (Mr. Hanlon) along. The flamboyant Professor Carroway has boundary issues, confusing emotions on the page with those in the classroom. Her fury at Professor Burgess for perceived grievances boils over with hilarious results. There is not really much substance behind it all, but it’s very enjoyable.

The actors are all attuned to Gurney's sensibilities. David Saint (The Fourth Wall), a frequent collaborator of Gurney’s, directs with assurance. The minimalist set by James Youmans (The Fourth Wall) utilizes — some might say over-utilizes — concentric frames of colored light to frame the proscenium. David Murin’s (Steel Magnolias) costumes are spot-on. 

Two out of three isn’t bad. I think the evening would have been better without the second play, but it didn’t spoil things for me. Running time: two hours ten minutes including intermission.

Feeding the Dragon

B

Primary Stages is presenting the New York premiere of this one-person show, written and performed by Sharon Washington (Luce, The Scottsboro Boys), about a little girl who lived in a library. The little girl was Ms. Washington who, for four years, lived in an apartment on the top floor of the St. Agnes Branch of the New York Public Library, where her father was the custodian. In the early scenes, during which she describes her life above the library, the tone is light. She vividly impersonates several characters including her mother, a born and bred New Yorker, and her father, who was raised in South Carolina. She has a close relationship with her father until a family crisis arises. She is temporarily sent to live with an aunt and uncle, whom she vividly recreates. Later, she takes a road trip with her father to visit his family and discovers how different a life he had in the South. She continues the story of her subsequent life and how it was shaped by the stories she has shared with us. There are hints of outside events, but she concentrates on the personal. The title refers to the library’s coal furnace with an insatiable appetite for coal, but also represents the other dragons in life that must be fed. Ms. Washington has a very ingratiating personality and is a skilled storyteller and impersonator. The polished production benefits greatly from an attractive stepped set by Tony Ferrieri that incorporates library books and card catalog drawers in the risers. The large multi-paned back windows, lit by Ann G, Wrightson, magically change color as the moment requires. Maria Mileaf (A Body of Water) directs with a light touch. It all added up to a low-key pleasure. Running time: 80 minutes, no intermission.

A Walk with Mr. Heifetz

C-

James Inverne’s impressive resume includes work as arts writer and commentator for the Daily Mail, Time Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, CNN and the Financial Times, editor of Gramophone and founder of magazines for the Sundance Institute and other arts institutions. He marks his playwriting debut with this well-intentioned but dramatically inert new play for Primary Stages at the Cherry Lane Theatre. In Act I, set in Palestine in 1926 under the British mandate, we meet Yehuda Sharett (Yuval Boim), kibbutz choir director, composer and amateur violinist, who has just attended a concert by Jascha Heifetz (Adam Green). He takes Heifetz for a walk in the hills during which he rebukes the famous violinist for the egotism of his career but also implores him for advice on how to become a better composer. Heifetz suggests he go to Berlin to study. In Act II, set in 1945, Yehuda is visited by his brother Moshe (Erik Lochtefeld; Napoli, Brooklyn), who went on to become foreign minister and then prime minister of Israel. Yehuda has stopped writing music and has become a recluse after his wife and sister are killed in an accident. Moshe attempts to lure him back into the world by persuading him how important music is to the soul of a nation. It’s all very high-minded, but, infortunately, not very dramatic. The different accents of the two brothers interject a discordant note. Boim’s Israeli accent is so thick that I could not distinguish between “walk” and “work.” In addition to the three actors, there is a violinist (Mariella Haubs) whose occasional short passages were more of a distraction than an enhancement. The set by Wilson Chin (Cost of Living, My Mañana Comes) converts from a rocky, hilly scene in the first act to a gloomy apartment in the second. The period costumes by Jen Caprio seemed appropriate to their characters. Andrew Leynse’s direction was unfussy. Earlier this season, Primary Stages presented another play (The Gospel According to Thomas Jefferson, Charles Dickens and Count Leo Tolstoy: Discord) that was more polemical than dramatic. While this play was a big improvement over the earlier one, I think it’s time to seek a new direction. Running time: 90 minutes including intermission.

The Gospel According to Thomas Jefferson, Charles Dickens and Count Leo Tolstoy: Discord

C-

Primary Stages’ season opener at the Cherry Lane Theatre is this high-concept comedy of ideas by Scott Carter. The playwright’s main credentials are that he was a stand-up comedian and later a writer/executive producer for Bill Maher’s television show. The play’s concept sounds promising: Imagine Thomas Jefferson (Michael Laurence; Appropriate). Charles Dickens (Duane Boutté; Parade) and Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy (Thom Sesma; Pacific Overtures) locked together in a room for reasons they do not understand. They appear as they looked at the height of their careers, rather than at the time of death. When they realize that each wrote his own version of the gospel, they think their purpose must be to combine their efforts into a joint work. When that fails, each tries to persuade the other two of the superiority of his own version. Finally, it occurs to them that maybe their real task is to examine their lives and face up to the gaps between their writings and their behavior. It was only at that point, about an hour in, that the play came to life for me and I stopped struggling to stay awake. During their recriminations, poor Jefferson comes in for the roughest treatment. Neither the humor nor the lofty discourse engaged me much. Maybe I nodded off for a crucial moment that would have made all the difference. I doubt it. The production is on the lavish side: a gilded proscenium arch decorated with books frames a red velvet curtain which lifts to reveal Wilson Chin’s (Aubergine) minimalist set of a bare room with a metal table and two chairs. Words are occasionally projected on the back wall. The period costumes by David Hyman (The Treasurer) are excellent. Laurence has a quiet dignity as Jefferson, but Boutté’s Dickens is too much a caricature and Sesma’s Tolstoy barely registers. That this play attracted a director the caliber of Kimberly Senior (Disgraced, The Who and the What) makes me wonder what she saw in it that I missed. Running time: 95 minutes, no intermission. 

Lives of the Saints ***

When Primary Stages offered a near-perfect production of “All in the Timing,” David Ives’s collection of six hilarious short plays, two years ago, I awarded it five stars. Now they are back with an evening of six more Ives playlets. Those expecting a reprise of Ives’s delicious word-play based sketches will be disappointed. The current collection is more substantive, but less stylistically successful. Most of the six plays (a seventh listed in the program was dropped to shorten the evening) are loosely tied together by the theme of goodness. “The Goodness of Your Heart” examines what one can expect from a good friend. “Soap Opera,” a pun-filled extended sketch about a repairman (think Maytag) who falls in love with a washing machine, shows the downside of perfection. “Enigma Variations” did not seem to fit the evening’s theme. With doubled characters and reversing roles, it was more frenetic than coherent. My favorite was “Life Signs,” in which a newly deceased mother thought to have lived an upright life suddenly begins talking to her grieving son and vividly disabusing him of that notion. “It’s All Good” shows a successful New York writer the life he might have had if he had never left southside Chicago. The title play, which closes the evening, demonstrates the simple goodness of two older Polish Catholic women preparing a funeral breakfast. Although the evening does not reach the delirious heights of “All in the Timing,” there are still lots of laughs. Returning from the previous production are director John Rando, set designer Beowulf Boritt, costume designer Anita Yavich and actors Carson Elrod (a comic genius) and Liv Rooth. They are joined by Arnie Burton, Rick Holmes and Kelly Hutchinson, who are just as adept at animating Ives’s characters. Although a bit disappointed that lightning did not strike twice, I had a good time. Running time: 2 hours, 5 minutes, including intermission.

While I Yet Live *

I hope that writing this family memoir was therapeutic for Billy Porter. That would at least provide some compensation for the ordeal of sitting through it. There are more family secrets under the roof of this home in Pittsburgh than one play can possibly handle. The fact that the only son of this religious black family is gay is far from the worst of its troubles. If only heartfelt emotions and good intentions were enough to make a play, this might have succeeded. Alas, the exposition is very clumsy. There are moments when it is difficult to tell not only when a scene is taking place but which characters are alive and which are dead. It does provide a fine opportunity for S. Epatha Merkerson, as the mother, to emote. I was looking forward to seeing Lillias White, but her underwritten role does not offer much chance to shine. The other cast members — Elain Graham, Sheria Irving, Kevyn Morrow, Larry Powell and Sharon Washington — do their best with the material. The second act meanders to a resolution that smacks of the wisdom of Oprah. I will give Porter credit for not sugarcoating the shortcomings of the character representing him.  James Noone’s set is attractive and Esosa’s costumes are appropriate to their characters. I enjoyed the player piano. I’m not sure what director Sheryl Kaller could have done to improve things for this Primary Stages production at the Duke. Running time: 2 hours 15 minutes including intermission.

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.

The Tribute Artist ***

If you are not a fan of Charles Busch's brand of female impersonation or of the kind of silliness that is often based on vulgarity, you can skip this play and the rest of this review. If, on the other hand, you enjoy high camp, you'll want to get to 59E59 for his newest play's Primary Stages premiere. To call the plot "convoluted" would be to oversimplify it; "preposterous" is a closer fit. The characters are Adriana (Cynthia Harris), a dying dowager with a townhouse in Greenwich Village; Jimmy (Busch), a drag queen --- oops, forgive me, celebrity tribute artist -- who stays with Adriana when he is in town; Rita (Busch stalwart Julie Halston), their lesbian friend who is an unsuccessful real estate broker; Christina (Mary Bacon), Adriana's feckless estranged niece; Oliver (Keira Keeley), Christina's teenage son who until recently was Rachel; and Rodney (Jonathan Walker), Adriana's shady long-lost lover. The madness does not reach the inspired level of Busch's "The Divine Sister" and it drags in spots [pun intended] but there are lots of funny lines along the way. Anita Louizos's townhouse living room set is sumptuous, Gregory Gale's costumes are droll, and Katherine Carr's wigs are perfect. Carl Andress, Busch's long-time director, does the honors again here. Running time: 2 hours, 15 minutes including intermission.

The Model Apartment *

(Please click on the title to see the complete review.)
Since I had been warned not once but twice that the Primary Stages revival of this early play by Donald Margulies was terrible, I was quite surprised to read the ecstatic reviews in the press. As a wise person once said, "Don't believe everything you read in the papers." The warnings were well-founded. While survival guilt and the corrosive effects of the Holocaust on survivors' offspring are certainly worthy of theatrical treatment, what Margulies has written seems to me a strange melange with characters that are more constructs than human beings. Lola (Kathryn Grody) and Max (Mark Blum), survivors who met and married in New York, are now a middle-age couple who have left Brooklyn for the expected refuge of retirement in Florida. Since their condo is not yet ready, they are forced to move temporarily into the development's model apartment where things are not as they appear. Metaphor, anyone? We learn that they have left behind their daughter Debby (Diane Davis), a morbidly obese, emotionally disturbed adult who tracks them down and bursts in on their intended idyll. Her mentally challenged, homeless boyfriend Neil (Hubert Point-du Jour) mysteriously arrives shortly thereafter. In several short scenes, they have at each other and their private ghosts. Even at 85 minutes, the play seemed repetitious. The emotional payoff that critics thought made the ordeal of sitting through the play worthwhile was insufficient for me. I think the play would have succeeded better as a shorter one-act without the character of Neil diluting the toxic family dynamic, or as a two-act play with greater character development. Lauren Helpern's set design perfectly captures the Florida condo aesthetic. The production's tone is wobbly, but the fault lies more in the writing than in Evan Cabnet's direction. Running time: one hour, 25 mintues; no intermission.

Harbor **

(Please click on the title to see the complete review.)
In this Primary Stages production at 59E59, the harbor is Sag Harbor, where architect Ted (Paul Anthony Stewart) and his somewhat younger husband Kevin (Randy Harrison), a would-be writer, live a seemingly idyllic, unencumbered life. This idyl is punctured by the unexpected arrival in a live-in van of Kevin's long-absent sister Donna (Erin Cummings), a single mother who fancies herself a singer, and her preternaturally wise 15-year-old daughter Lottie (Alexis Molnar), who has a taste for Edith Wharton and Virginia Woolf. Early on, Ted has a terrific rant about his hatred of young children and mothers who display an undeserved sense of entitlement. His feelings do not deter Donna from her mission of manipulating her brother into persuading Ted that they should raise her forthcoming child so she can go off and get a job singing on a cruise ship. (The fact that she claims it is too late for an abortion when she is not even showing the slightest baby bump perplexed me.) Their one-night visit turns into a few months. When Ted learns of Donna's plan and Kevin's reluctance to turn her down, he and Kevin have a gripping conversation that lays bare Ted's true perception of Kevin and of the underlying nature of their relationship. A new equilibrium emerges. The play touches on many interesting topics, such as peer pressure on gay couples to parent, the fragility of equilibrium in a relationship, and the dangers of a life based on illusion. Unfortunately, the tone is wildly uneven: playwright Chad Beguelin seems uncertain whether he is writing a sitcom, a soap opera or a serious drama. When the snappy one-liners recede and the tone turns more serious in the second act, it is a bit unsettling. The actors acquit themselves honorably with the sometimes unconvincing dialogue. Andrew Jackness's scenic design cleverly has the living room walls covered in a faint pastel representation of the house's exterior, but the furnishings looked a bit sparse for this couple. Candice Donnelly's costumes are apt. Director Mark Lamos keeps things moving briskly. (Something strange happened about 10 minutes into the play. An amplified voice instructed the actors to stop while they traced the source of a hearing aid that was creating interference. After a few minutes, the play resumed with the actors repeating most of one scene. It was an unfortunate intrusion). Running time: 2 hours, including intermission.

All in the Timing *****

It was with some apprehension that I attended a preview of Primary Stages' 20th anniversary revival of David Ives's early hit. I remembered these zany sketches so fondly that I feared I could not possibly enjoy them as much a second time. I need not have worried. Under John Rando's flawless direction, Ives's six playlets are fresh as ever. The excellent cast (Eric Clem, Carson Elrod, Jenn Harris, Liv Rooth and Matthew Saldivar) are up to the high standards set by the original actors. Beowulf Boritt's set and Anita Yavich's costumes add greatly to the fun. Ives' delightful wordplay and comic social observations stand the test of time. "Sure Thing" and "The Universal Language" remain my personal favorites, although "Words, Words, Words" and "Philip Glass Buys a Loaf of Bread" are not far behind. "The Philadelphia" is amusing, but runs on a bit too long. Only "Variations of the Death of Trotsky" disappointed, lacking the inventiveness of the other plays; unfortunately, it concludes the evening. Even the scene changes are amusing. If your funny bone needs a tickle, hurry to 59E59. You won't regret it. Running time: one hour, 45 minutes including intermission.

Him **

(Please click on the title to see the complete review.)
Being the daughter of a famous playwright must be a mixed blessing for Daisy Foote -- it probably opens doors, but it also sets expectations high. On the basis of her new play at Primary Stages, I think her achievement does not yet match her promise. An emotionally stunted father dying from a stroke is attended by his three adult children -- Pauline (Hallie Foote), still single in her 50s; Henry (Tim Hopper), a gay man in his late 40s who, bullied at college, returned home for keeps; and Farley (Adam LeFevre), the youngest, who is both obese and developmentally challenged. Ironically it is Farley who finds love in the form of a similarly challenged new neighbor, Louise (Adina Verson). The father has run his small-town New Hampshire general store into the ground and the family is barely surviving. Upon his death, the children find out that he secretly owned land that is now worth a fortune to developers. Pauline is driven by a need to become rich to show up the neighbors. When Henry discovers his father's journals revealing a love for the natural wonders of his property, he has second thoughts about developing it. One of the play's weaknesses is that every so often the action freezes and a spotlight shines on one of the actors who declaims a passage from the journals. This device grew stale very quickly. It also did not help that the characters' New England accent came and went. The strident monotone that Hallie Foote has chosen for her character grated on my ears after a while. Le Fevre and Verson grossly overact the behavior of a challenged person. Marion Williams' set recreates a slightly rundown kitchen of a particular time right down to the avocado appliances. Teresa Snider-Stein's costumes are fine. Evan Yionoulis directed. Running time: 1 hour, 45 minutes including intermission.

Harrison, TX ***

(Please click on the title to see the entire review.)

This evening of three short plays by Horton Foote, now in previews at Primary Stages, is not on the same high level as The Orphans' Home Cycle or Dividing the Estate, but it does offer moments of pleasure. Only the location -- the fictionalized version of Foote's hometown where most of his works take place -- unites the three plays. The first, Blind Date, is an affectionately satirical sketch about an aunt trying to teach her visiting niece a lesson in charm before an arranged date. Although the sketch eventually runs out of steam, it is the most satisfying of the trio. The One-Armed Man, a short but brutal confrontation between an injured man and the boss he blames. presents a jarring and unpleasant contrast. The longest and most ambitious play, The Midnight Caller, vividly portrays the soul-sucking, circumscribed life of the residents of a boarding house and the disruption caused by the arrival of two newcomers. The cast of nine (Devon Abner, Mary Bacon, Jeremy Bobb, Alexander Cendese, Hallie Foote, Andrea Lynn Green, Jayne Houdyshell, Evan Jonigkeit, and Jenny Dare Paulin) are all excellent. Kaye Voyce's costumes clearly evoke the time and place. Marion Williams' set is also evocative, but falters a bit in the third play when a corner of the stage suddenly has to represent a bedroom. Pam MacKinnon's direction is smooth and direct. Running time: 1 hour, 50 minutes without an intermission.

Rx ***

(Please click on the title to see the entire review.)
Kate Fodor's new satire now in previews at Primary Stages has a lot going for it -- intriguing situations, sharply drawn characters, snappy dialogue, a flexible set, and smooth direction. The main characters are Meena Pierotti (Marin Hinkle), the editor of a trade publication about cattle and swine who so hates her job that she signs up for the clinical trial of a drug to combat workplace depression that is being conducted by the nerdy Phil Gray (Stephen Kunken), a researcher at Schmidt Pharma. Other characters include Allison (Elizabeth Rich), Phil's compulsively rigid boss: Simon (Michael Bakkenen), Meena's hunky boss; Frances (Marylouise Burke), a flaky widow that Meena meets in the underwear department of a nearby store where Meena flees when she has to cry; Richard, a Pharma marketing executive, and Ed, an absent-minded Pharma researcher (both played by Paul Niebanck). The cast is uniformly strong. The plot covers many bases: the ethics of the pharmaceutical industry, cruelty to animals in the food industry, job satisfaction, rekindling interest in life at an advanced age, the placebo effect, and even foot fetishism. Perhaps there are a few themes too many, because they don't fit together all that well and the result, at least for me, was a fuzzy focus. Perhaps they will smooth some of the rough edges before opening night. I hope so, because there is much to enjoy despite the play's flaws. Ethan McSweeny directed. Running time: 1 hour, 45 mintues, without an intermission.

Motherhood Out Loud ***

This new offering at Primary Stages, a collection of 20 sketches, some funny, some sad, by 14 playwrights, some well-known, some not, makes for a very pleasant way to spend 90 minutes. Each sketch deals with some aspect of motherhood, from giving birth to being a great-grandmother. Some of the sketches that most impressed me dealt with an autistic son's mother trying to be helpful on his first date, a mother answering her adopted Chinese daughter's questions, a mother trying to deal with her young son's desire to dress as Queen Esther for Purim, a soldier's mother trying to allay her fears, and an adult son facing the first signs of his mother's memory loss. The quartet of actors -- Mary Bacon, Saidah Arrika Ekulona, Randy Graff and James Lecsene -- are all excellent. (I will confess that I always welcome the opportunity to see Ms. Graff onstage.) The large colorful squares of the Mondrian-like backdrop by Rachel Hauck turn into screens for Emily Hubley's whimsical animations and Jan Hartley's projections. Lisa Peterson's direction is seamless. Susan Rose and Joan Stein conceived the project. Admittedly, some of the material seemed cliched, but for me its sincerity made up for its familiarity. I'm sure it will be eagerly performed by theater groups around the country. I hope it finds its audience here in New York.

Olive and the Bitter Herbs *

Charles Busch's latest comedy, now in previews at Primary Stages, lacks one essential ingredient -- Charles Busch. As playwright, he is at his best when he is writing for himself. Alas, he is not on stage this time around. Although the cast (Dan Butler, David Garrison, Julie Halston, Marcia Jean Kurtz and Richard Masur) struggle valiantly to bring Busch's thin material to life, it is mostly a losing battle. Busch shamelessly panders to gays, Jews and senior citizens -- the very people most likely to attend. There is a dyspeptic aging actress, her unfulfilled do-gooder friend, the gay couple next door, the co-op board president's widowed father and a ghost. Mix and match. The comedy is more a series of setups for punchlines than a coherent plot. There is a seder like none you ever attended in act one and a sporadically funny series of increasingly implausible coincidences in act two. The set by Anna Louizos captures the look of a pre-war rent-controlled Manhattan apartment and Suzy Benzinger's costumes help define the characters. Mark Brokaw directed. I won't pretend I didn't have a few laughs, but the evening was instantly forgettable..Running time: 2 hours including intermission.

Black Tie ***

I have long been a fan of A.R. Gurney, so it came as no surprise that I greatly enjoyed his latest play Black Tie at Primary Stages. Early on, Gurney found his niche and stuck to it. Future cultural anthropologists need only study Gurney's collected plays to find out what it meant to be a WASP in 20th century America. This time out we meet Curtis (Gregg Edelman) who is dressing for his son's rehearsal dinner and thinking about the toast he must give. He has donned his late father's tuxedo (or evening suit, as his father would insist) which he has had altered for the occasion. Teddy, the groom (Ari Brand), is to wear Curtis's tuxedo, which Curtis has outgrown. Symbolism, anyone? When Curtis looks in the mirror, lo and behold, he evokes the ghost of his father (Daniel Davis, in a plummy role) who steps out from behind the mirror to advise him. A man untroubled by doubt, he knew the socially appropriate behavior for every occasion. With occasional interruptions from Curtis's wife Mimi (the excellent Carolyn McCormick) and daughter Elsie (Elvy Yost), neither of whom can see him, the father proceeds to instruct Curtis on how to give the perfect toast. Midway through the 85-minute play, we encounter a series of ever-escalating surprises funny enough (just barely) to outweigh their implausibility. With humor that is never mean-spirited, Gurney pokes fun at WASPS, East Coast liberals, and contemporary social mores. Midst the humor, he raises substantive questions about the role of tradition, continuity and the meaning of love. John Arone's set of a hotel room in a second-rate Adirondack hotel has all the proper accouterments, including antlers and a mounted fish. Mark Lamos, who has done right by Gurney on previous occasions, does so once again here.