Critic at Leisure

Catch these off-Broadway plays while you can!

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Surely you recall “Venus in Fur” the dark, erotic, comic tale of a young actress having an audition on a stormy night that caused a heat wave off-Broadway some years back It carried a sensational unknown actress, Nina Arianda, to Broadway and beyond. But it was playwright David Ives who created the wry, erotic, hypnotic play that announced Arianda’s arrival and it was Ives’ “All In the Timing” in a heralded Primary Stages revival a few seasons back that had audiences’ jaws aching with laughter.
Through March 27, this magical master of world-class wit is sharing his talents at Primary Stages with a half-dozen plays — some new, some revived — that add up to an evening of comic enchantment. The compilation is titled “Lives of the Saints” a pun in itself, and for this critic the tears of mirth mostly came post intermission. Then, in one madcap vignette, “Life Signs,” brought us Helen (Kelly Hutchison) a woman of few words in life, who has passed away.
Once a doctor, Binkman (terrific Arnie Burton) has mumbled platonic sentiments and departed son Toby (Carlson Elrod — a night-long hoot) and his young wife are left alone with mother’s cold corpse, which in short order pops up with a “Hello!” and mom turns out to have a lot to share with her offspring. Vulgarly expressed in brief respites from her death, she pours out a life of infidelity and bawdy recollections, involving the size of comparative genitals (family versus lover). The ribald skit adds up to “never judge a book by its cover!” with nothing erotic about its contents … but instead the hilarity born of Helen’s impassioned confessions.
Another favorite, “Soap Opera” is based on the old Maytag commercial that features a lonely repairman (Elrod) bogged down with his non-life dealing with machines that never require repairs. Leading to a passionate, if one sided) relationship with IT40 (a glorious, stunning Liv Booth).The punning here explodes as the lonely man describes his ‘date’ with ‘a model’ with a friend, how he was “awash in confused feelings,” eventually attempting to book a table at a fancy French restaurant with his beloved’ in tow!
The beauty of Ives potent wit is that he shares telling life lessons brimming with insight and a wry perspective on our humanity with the most delicious humor! Go wallow in the bliss of life and death situations shared with the irreverence that we’re all rocking in the same unsteady boat; and it’s tears of laughter that make our spirits bloom! (Primary Stages, at The Duke, 229 W. 42nd St., through March 27, tickets at 646-223-3010.)

‘Every Brilliant Thing ‘ is all sunshine!
“Every Brilliant Thing,” one of the most hilarious, endearing ventures of the season, written by Duncan McMillan and Jonny Donahoe will sadly depart our shores on March 29 for a return tour through the U.K. In this unique audience participation delight we are enlisted to share in a young boy’s attempt — from childhood on — to ease his mother’s depression by creating a list of all the best things in the world on which to focus to replace her sadness.
As the boy ages his “bests” list gets longer and longer and more diversified as he realized the effect of helping his mom has enriched his own life. An audience of strangers became new “friends” chatting up the theater post-play at the matinee I attended. Like “Lives of the Saints” humor again becomes a prime mover enriching all our lives. Bring regards please to solo performer Donahoe when you make a beeline for the Barrow Street Theatre (27 Barrow St.) with tickets now at www.smarttix.com or (212) -868-4444.

Growing up with ‘The Mystery of Love and Sex’

It takes a while for Bathsheba Doran’s “The Mystery of Love and Sex” to arrive at its moved-to-tears final reconciliation. But getting to know “the family” in this moving and sometimes harrowing exploration of two generations of a most unique quartet of individuals is essential to your experience at the Mitzi Newhouse.
With Charlotte (Gayle Rankin in a breakout turn) and Jonny (incredibly moving Mamoudou Athie), college students and ‘best friends” hosting a simple dinner for her parents as the play begins, the fare at a makeshift table (a salad and bread with no butter) reflects the generation gap. Charlotte’s mom is a genteel Southerner raised Christian; the girl’s dad, Howard (Tony Shaloub) an aggressive New York bred Jew. Friends since age 9, Jonny is black, reared in a strict Baptist upbringing. The students increasing closeness has led Charlotte to forgo Yale to join her friend at a nameless Southern University.
Jonny’s determined to remain a virgin until marriage. Charlotte’s more adventuresome, especially after wine (and later more altering substances). The latter soon lead the teen to explore a relationship with another young woman. Its been assumed the younger “friends like family” will one day marry, but as “Love and Sex” pulses on both generations face marked changes in their relationships. The complications that ensue range from harrowing to heartbreaking for the quartet — with choices that envelope us—more and more to “the way we live now.”
More to follow on this mind gripping, eye opening drama. Expand your horizons at Lincoln center. Bring tissues! (212) 239-6200 or lct.org., through April 26.