As the story begins, Felicity (Laura Benanti) wakes up in a hotel room with her clothes in disarray, and no idea how she got there. She becomes even more shocked when she finds a man in her bed. This man is Zamir (Amir Arison), who she apparently married the night before while in a drunken stupor—a marriage performed by a minister who also makes pornographic films.
When Felicity suggests an annulment, Zamir, who claims to be Irish, won't hear of it. (He has, as he says, a terrible temper and one does not want to get on his bad side). Felicity's further attempts to get information from her new husband are mostly unsuccessful, but his past seems to involve illegal activities, making her wonder if Zamir is a terrorist.
Felicity's parents offer her no help. Her mother Luella (Kristine Nielsen) has a habit of not being able to follow a conversation, going off on one tangent or another until she is totally lost. She also is a major theater buff, much to the dismay of her daughter, who thinks theater is a pretentious bore.
Her father Leonard (Richard Poe), an ultra-right-wing conservative, is immediately suspicious of Zamir, with both men threatening to kill each other at their first meeting. Plus, why does Leonard keep talking about his butterfly collection, which no one in the family has ever seen?
There's also the question of just who are the people with the code names of "Scooby-Doo" and "Looney Tunes," as well as a narrator (voice of David Aaron Baker) who some of the characters can hear at certain points (and wonder where the voice is coming from).
Included in the text, which refreshingly makes it impossible to tell how it's all going to turn out until the final curtain, are some serious political points. Everybody wants our country to be safe. But going too far, as Leonard does, (don't get him started on Jane Fonda), may cause innocent people to get caught in the crossfire. At the same time, Felicity, who just wants things to be normal and sweet, by ignoring what has gone on before, envisions a world where everybody is literally dancing in the dark. That Durang can successfully meld these two opposite ideologies is a testament to his ability to create a story with lessons for people no matter what they believe (although it sometimes takes breaking the fourth wall to do it).
Acting is letter perfect. Benanti is good as a sane person trying to make sense of a situation spiraling out of control. However, the more Felicity puts two and two together, the more fragmented the answers seem to become. Arison deserves credit in making Zamir, basically a cad, into a very interesting and, at times, likable guy, one who may know more than he's telling.
Top honors go to Nielsen and Poe. Nielson's comments never fail to have people rolling in the aisles, as do her pantomimes or subtle movements and gestures that speak volumes. Other good moments occur when her dialogue allows Durang to take pot shots at the gods of theater, such as when she relates how an audience member killed himself during an evening of Tom Stoppard's plays.
Poe is an absolute hoot as a charter member of "the radical right," who is determined to root out terrorists at whatever the cost. He plays the character so seriously that he reminds one of a combination of George Patton and Sean Hannity on acid.
Baker gets to play several roles in the show, becoming a bit of a chameleon as a waiter, an operative who talks in Looney Tunes-speak, the sometimes-seen narrator, and a master of ceremonies at Hooters.
Also enjoyable is Audrie Neenan as Hildegarde, an agent who's secretly in love with Leonard. John Pankow is good as Reverend Mike, the man who marries Felicity and Zamir.
The sets by David Korins are quite realistic. Costumes by Gabriel Berry (which includes a collection of Luella's dresses) are very good. Lighting by Ben Stanton and sound design by Drew Levy are fine.
Why Torture Is Wrong, And The People Who Love ThemThe Public Theater
425 Lafayette Street
Tickets: (212) 967-7555 or www.publictheater.org
Running Time: Approximately 2 hours, 20 minutes
Closes: May 3
