Written by Gerald Zipper
Directed by Ted Mornel
Theater at St. Lukes
308 W. 46th Street
212-352-3101
Gerald Zipper's new play Secrets is a sharp, if not completely coherent, drama about four well-to-do couples, their hidden agendas and unspoken truths. The story takes place during an evening of dinner and drinks on the Upper West Side of 1985. Although four couples are slated to attend said dinner, only three actually show up: the hosts, Len and Lally (Darren Lougee and Elena Zazanis), their friends Matt and Rhonda (Tom Sminkey and Alyce Mayors), and Hank and Dora (Mark Hamlet and Lissa Moira). Once the six are together, the couples notice the absence of no-show couple Fred and Emma, a formerly filthy rich husband and wife who have recently been knocked into a significantly lower tax bracket. As the couples speculate on the whereabouts of their missing friends, an escalating verbal crossfire reveals the many deep, dark secrets that the six characters have been hiding from each other.
Despite the low-key plot, trite dialogue and stunning similarities to Edward Albee's, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Secrets manages to elicit some great performances from its actors. Sminkey and Mayors are especially compelling as Matt and Rhonda, whose loveless relationship and incessant screaming matches lead them to question why they are still together in the first place. The two of them steal the evening with intense exchanges through which the pain of a failing marriage is chillingly brought to light. In contrast, Lougee and Zazanis turn in rather dry and forced performances as Len and Lally. The clumsy dialogue between the two makes it difficult to accept their characters as a sociable couple with a penchant for hosting dinner parties.
Two of the highlights of Secrets are Zen Mansley's set and costume design, which delightfully evoke the mid 80s through fluorescent wall art, simplistic décor, and professional-yet-chic attire. Ted Mornel's direction, meanwhile, paces the play quickly enough to gloss over some of the holes in Zipper's plot. Although you may leave Secrets feeling unsettled by a story that fails to tie up its loose ends, the play is worth seeing on the strengths of its ensemble alone.
