****Love is beautiful! Love is wonderful! These are words that we hear on a regular basis. The question is- “is it true?”  Or, “Is it real?” In the sit on the edge of your seat “thriller” written by Theresa Rebeck, now on the intimate stage at Oil Lamp Theater in Glenview, we meet two couples. Both of these couples are childless, and because they are, they sort of cling to each other to fill that particular gap. These couples are friends, not only because they share the “no kids” situation, but because two of them ( one from each couple) have known each other since childhood.

While both couples live apart, they do, on occasion get together, and in this case, one of the couples, Peter ( a sparkling performance by Jack Morsovillo) and Ella ( played to perfection by Ksa Curry), have a country home, so on this particular week-end, they are host to their “friends” Ian ( deftly handled by Sam Fain) and his wife, Maureen ( Lauren Paige). As the play opens, it shows us the four “freinds” enjoying their after dinner wine and having a discussion that seems to be somewhat heated ( or are they all drunk ?). Ian and Ella are going at it more than the others and drinking quite a lot. Ian is very Irish and far more outgoing than his quiet, sort of timid wife, Maureen.

Directed by Lauren Katz on a clever set designed by Trenton Jones, who purely has created magic on the tiny stage at Oil Lamp, we are in a kitchen -dining room for the action and yet, we are sure there are other rooms in this old home. We know there are stairs leading up to the master bedroom as well as a den that also leads to other rooms on the first level. As I said Jones has created an illusion that makes the small stage seem much larger than it is.

This is a fairly deep story and one that has many ups and downs, highs and lows, black , and some grey matters that will have you wondering who is right and who is wrong. Are these couples really freinds, or have they become that in order to live their lives? One might also ask, are the marriages whole? There are some greay areas in each couple’s lives and perhaps their relationships are not what they seem to be.

In listening to some of the words in the very beginning, we learn that there are some secrets in their pasts, and while it starts out as a jealous mistake, it evolves as the story goes on, unraveling lies, guilt trips, manipulation, punishment, and we get to see just how close “love and hate” can become as emotions. We learn about choices that we have made and what we can do to possibly change our life’s path or direction. It is probably more understandable to someone what has gone through divorce, but perhaps many people who see this play might reexamine their own lives and destinies. Often we hear the expression “in hindsight” to lead off a conversation, so taken to the next level, if we think about it, we can admit that we have perhaps reexamined our choices and realize that we have made the wrong ones.

I found myself drawn to the power of the performances and that each character was real with emotions that were meaningful. Katz appears to have hit the nail on the head. On the technical side, kudos to Jillian Leff for the fight choreography as well as Paige Klopfenstein for the intimacy direction. It sure seemed real! Daniel Friedman’s lighting was perfect and Elly Burke’s props were quite realistic. I almost felt that we were at my Sister-in-laws Union Pier beach house. The costumes (Danielle Reinhardt) and sound (Alex Trinh) made it all seem real. Oil Lamp and their crew are great at making big things happen on a small stage with only 66 seats in the house. Can’t wait to see what they do when they build the new venue!

 

“Poor Behavior” will continue through  May 10th with performances as follows: