Reasons To Be Pretty

"REASONS TO BE PRETTY"
Lyceum Theatre
149 West 45th Street
(Between 6th and 7th Avenue)

CLOSING JUNE 14TH 2009

WRITTEN BY: NEIL LABUTE
DIRECTED BY: TERRY KINNEY
LIGHTING DESIGN: DAVID WEINER
SCENIC DESIGN: DAVID GALLO
SOUND AND MUSIC DESIGN: ROB MILBURN & MICHAEL BODEEN

MARIN IRELAND as STEPH
THOMAS SADOWSKI as GREG
STEVEN PASQUALE as KENT
PIPER PERABO as CARLY

PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT THE OPINIONS OFFERED BELOW CONTAIN SPOILERS TO THE SHOW!!!!

In the much anticipated Broadway debut of Mr. LaBute, RTBP brings us abruptly into a world where words are lethal. Mr. LaBute finishes his "self image" series with this poignant comedy that keeps us laughing while presenting us with an issue that has been apparent in his work since the opening of "The Shape Of Things." Each play, "Fat Pig" being the second in the series, has incorporated a type of message regarding society's belief in beauty as self worth. However, not only is this the final chapter, this is also a stand alone coming of age story which Mr. LaBute quotes as "the story he had to tell."

The play is also not without its history. It originally premiered Off-Broadway with Allison Pill in the role of Steph. It achieved great success and opened many people up to the writing of Mr. LaBute. Differing from the Off-Broadway version, the Broadway version did not split the play into four sequences. Originally, each character uttered a monologue, with Greg's speech closing the play. The change was a wise choice. In breaking the fourth wall, the production could have suffered. However, with the omission of the monologues, a new ending was required. The new ending, which I shall spoil later on due to the premature closing of this show, felt contrived.

The scenes are quickly paced with overlapping dialogue (Mr. LaBute's signature style) and are completed with a blackout followed by rock music. The point of attack happens mid-fight when Steph (Ms. Ireland) is trying to acquire the truth from her boyfriend Greg (Mr. Sadowski) in reference to a word or phrase he uttered to her dismay. As the play progresses, Steph's temper is performed on a comedic level but this later proves to show a good deal of contrast to the "silent" temper which Greg owns throughout the play until his final "battle." The action between Steph and Greg comes to a conclusion when he confirms he remarked that her face was "regular" compared to another woman at work, but he meant it as a compliment. Greg tries to make light of the situation, all the while not grasping why Steph's best friend Carly, (Ms. Perabo) who overheard this, would cause this mayhem. 

At work, Greg works alongside his best friend Kent (Mr. Pasquale) and Carly, both of whom are a couple. Carly is head security guard in the evening at a warehouse while Greg and Kent are night laborers. Carly is said to represent the "beauty." She has the looks, the mind, the "everything." Kent is in all senses: a womanizer. He adores Carly, finds every part of her sexy, but has an affair with Krystal, a woman whose "face" caused the controversy for the two couples. In the background of the emotional Picasso-esque moments, Mr. LaBute works in the subplot of a softball game that Kent and Greg are a part of due to their employment. As the plot progresses, we find that Carly is pregnant, Steph has moved on and Kent is still cheating. When Greg confronts him, they have an altercation that leads to a physical and humiliating fight. In the only chance Greg has to one-up his friend, now that Kent has moved to days so he could sleep with Carly before she goes to work and sleep with Krystal when Carly leaves, Greg walks off the team, forcing Kent to bear the burden of losing for once in his life. Once back at work, Greg takes a heroic step when a meeting with Carly proves that Kent is still cheating. In one of my favorite parts of the play Greg simply asks Carly if she has any sick days left. She responds affirmatively and Greg proceeds to tell her to take the day off and go home to Kent. Not later, not tomorrow, not in an hour but RIGHT NOW. She simply nods and cries as she walks off. 

And, then there was Steph and Greg. After a few incidents involving a vicious letter-reading moment at a mall and an awkward moment in a lounge where Steph meets her future fiancee, Steph shows up at Greg's job. After talking and confessing, the scene draws to a close. This final scene is the only bit in the play I had a hard time getting past. It went over to the melodramatic side and as I said earlier, it felt contrived. It ends with a final kiss between the two: their goodbye as Steph goes off to start her life. The problem was not the acting, nor was it the writing. The ending just didn't feel right for the theatre. When Greg makes his final sob and his ultimate fuck you to his job, it had a wonderful coming of age feel about it. Greg has made the transformation we had wished he possessed prior to this instance. Yet, the emotion between the two characters felt like we were ending a TV movie instead of a play. To be honest, I feel the ending could be satisfactory for some audiences and leave others groaning. "Reasons To Be Pretty" ended optimistically which is no easy task when the relationship at the center did not resurface. The final kiss, though sweet, also felt dishonest. Steph, whom we have viewed as moral, has accepted her fiancees' proposal but then initiates a kiss. The overall problem, and there are two ways to view this, is there was too much closure. If you look at this as a stand alone play, the ending felt contrived and too "neat." However, if you look at this as a LaBute trilogy and this being the final chapter, the ending is completely respectable since trilogies such as Lanford Wilson's "Talley's" and John Patrick Shanley's "Doubt," are expected to offer us closure which this infact does.

Mr. LaBute's writing is wonderfully enjoyable. There are no flashy monologues, or classical approaches. His writing is down to earth, fresh and hilarious. His gift is his ability to blend both comedy and pathos. I agree with members of the press and Mr. LaBute himself that this is his most "grown up" piece of work. The theme is present through every word. The "supporting" characters sometimes carry more of the theme and premise than the leads which proves nothing more than the fact that Mr. LaBute cares about every character he imagines. He is a favorite among critics, college-goers, and with his work now being widespread on Broadway, I feel that his work will finally be acknowledged for what is always has been: hidden genius. After all, his Broadway debut landed him a Tony nomination (and if it was any other season, a probable win) for Best Play.

With the exception of the rock music, Mr. Kinney's production was flawless. With a certain ease, he brings us into this suburban world and begs us to understand the relationships of man vs. woman, woman vs. man, work vs. play and beauty vs. self worth. All elements, especially Mr. Weiner's lighting is perfectly mended for an exact fitting in this puzzle. Mr. Gallo's naturalistic scenic design complete with a vending machine and microwave worked perfectly with the production and heightened the blue collar environment that beautifully served as the backdrop for this story. Mr. Milburn and Mr. Bodeen's sound and music design were also appropriate. However, the transition of scenes with rock music did not seem aligned for me.

Mr. Pasquale gives a delightful performance as Kent. He owns the masculinity and obtuseness of the role and hangs onto it until his last fighting breath. Mr. Pasquale reminds us why Greg has been Kent's friend all these years, and though he represents a quotient of men who are easily judged, he shows us that his thought process for cheating isn't to hurt Carly, which is a true character defining moment, but only for his self gratification.

FAVORITE LINE: (referencing Greg eating a Power Bar) "You can't eat one if you just had a meal. It's a supplement. It's not dessert."

Ms. Perabo is wonderful in the role of Carly. I would say she is the character with the least amount of "laugh lines" but Ms. Perabo makes this a performance of quality. Her stride, her manner and her voice are perfected of a woman who has been handed everything because of her looks. It's even suggested this is how she achieved her position as head security guard. Carly's arc goes from being a woman of authority to a woman of desperation. Ms. Perabo pulls this off beautifully. In one of the most touching scenes of the play, she all but begs Greg to inform her of the truth so she can live a happy life. Most notably known for her role in "Coyote Ugly," Ms. Perabo stripped everything away and gave us a fantastically raw performance for her Broadway debut.

FAVORITE LINE: (responding after Greg answers her question on how he is enjoying Poe, to which he responded: "It's dark."): "Yeah, it's night."

Mr. Sadowski's performance can never be criticized for a lack of energy. Greg is determined to prove his love and his humanity. Mr. Sadowski highlights Greg as a regular guy who has made a regular mistake. At times, we feel more empathy for him than we do for Steph. He matches wits with perfection to Ms. Ireland. The relationship between Mr. Sadowski and Mr. Pasquale is intentionally childish and Mr. Sadowski milks this wonderfully. For as passive as Greg is, it's in those passive silences that Mr. Sadowski lets us gain true character insight. Greg comes full circle from start to finish and does so with an elegance that lets us hope that he will one day get over Steph.

FAVORITE LINE: (in response to Steph walking out of the mall during a fight) "Fine. Leave. Go. You and your stupid face."


Ms. Ireland makes her Broadway debut in Mr. LaBute's play but has been around since the opening of Adam Rapp's "Nocturne" in 2002. In taking a phrase from bloggers when speaking of Alice Ripley, (2009 Tony winner for "Next To Normal") Ms. Ireland is fierce. From the onset of the argument, to the physicality that Steph exudes, and ending with such profound emotional depth, Ms. Ireland encompasses Steph to a degree of hilarity and perfection. She is a beautiful young woman who is uniquely talented and uses her range extremely well here. Ms. Ireland finds the humor in Steph's abrasive attitude, but always evokes our compassion. She is a woman scorned, whether it be intentionally or not. Ms. Ireland melded herself into this role and the final product is a performance that makes you tingle, laugh and think. At the risk of being repetitive, her chemistry with Mr. Sadowski could make or break the performance of this production. Not only do they work beautifully off of each other but they bring out the worst and best in every possible area. Ms. Ireland is a shining star. She's the reason to see this production if you are not a LaBute junkie.

FAVORITE LINE: (in response to Greg complaining about her vulgarity): "Fuck off. Fucker. Fuck."

Reasons To Be Pretty is closing on Sunday June 14th. The play, though financially not as successful as the backers would have liked, was a hit with critics. It's a wonderfully constructed spectacle of theatre that, if all else failed, gave "older" theatre-goers an honest view of adolescent relationships. I would advise you to catch the final performances. If you miss it, get the script. It's the Off-Broadway version but it will bring you into this world. RTBP was more than enjoyable. It was a perfect end to a meaningful trilogy.