Regrets Only

Manhattan Theatre Club
NY City Center Stage I

I saw Regrets Only last week as its run was extended and I finally had the opportunity. I have not pledged a pure, no-holds-barred love for the Manhattan Theatre Club, but they do always make a great effort. They put a lot of money behind all of their productions and they almost always use top-notch actors. They seem to be loving the imports in general right now, but Regrets Only was a little closer to American home.

Paul Rudnick was the playwright and I was only familiar with his work from his screen adaptation of the movie In & Out. If you have seen the movie, I think you can grasp the tone of the play. Lighthearted and seriously flirting with the issue of being gay in America and running up against the inability to marry and fully live out the picket fence American Dream. It's the contrast of a serious issue, earnestly posed, yet cloaked in a comedy with great actors that I think has rubbed some critics the wrong way. It's as if Mr. Rudnick believes that medicine can only be swallowed with a great spoonful of sugar, which in this case unfortunately leads to forgettable rather than provocative. My theater neighbor summed it up well when he said, "This is a great commercial production." The issue of gay marriage and a pending constitutional amendment is prettily packaged with just the slightest bit of product.

I liked the play. I thought it was funny. But, let me just mention the absurdity of the plot which revolved around a timely strike of all the gay people in the world on the day before a rich woman's wedding day. This would, of course, mean that all hair dressers, dress makers, flower arrangers, etc. were on strike at a very crucial moment. This all fed into one of the points of the play: that we rely on gay and lesbian individuals to fuel a wedding business that they can ironically not participate in. There was more to it than that, but that's a good first layer for this purpose.

And, I would, of course be remiss if I did not mention the joy of watching the great Christine Baranski deliver some of the best one-liners I have heard in awhile. She was complimented by a good cast. I stand alone, based on the audience behavior, but I found the role of the maid distracting and perhaps unnecessary. I also found her at odds with the rest of the show.

This is a commercial endeavor. You could bring anyone to this. No one should walk away bruised or provoked or with their politics in jeopardy of a real realignment. At least I don't think this would change anyone's mind on the issues of gay marriage, but what do I know?

Honorable mentions, certainly, go to Michael Yeargan for his very beautiful set. I also found Diane Davis strong and enjoyable as the young bride.