This world premiere is by Deborah Rennard, who is best known for playing J.R.'s secretary on the TV show "Dallas"
Infidelity is not a dirty little secret in "For Worse," the new play by television actress turned playwright Deborah Rennard now receiving its world premiere at Long Branch's NJ Repertory Company. Rennard doesn't even bother to stage husband Peter's (Ed Kershen) presumably strained confession. "... What?" is the play's opening line, as wife Karen (Kristin Griffith) responds to the news she has just received.
Rennard proceeds to lay her characters as bare for the audience as they are for each other. We watch as they writhe, each desperate to salvage some sense of normality in a world drastically altered with one word.
Our unfaithful husband Peter will eventually detail to his wife of 29 years his long relationship with 26-year-old European artist Lucia (Daniela Mastropietro). As he does, he throws himself on the mercy of the court: "It's deplorable, despicable... You have every right to hate me," he says. But we soon discover this sustained act of self-flagellation is intended to provoke Karen to kick him out. Running away with Lucia would be far easier if Karen instigates their split, after all -- but to Peter's astonishment, Karen will not oblige.
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All this action takes place over the course of the play's first ten minutes, before we move onto the business of watching Peter waffle between his twin desires, and watching Karen grow increasingly bemused and furious at the husband she thought she knew well.
The play is an often funny, at times tense, but ultimately uneven, unable to quite decide how best to approach its topic. At times, Rennard embraces and accentuates the absurdity of it all, while at others she struggles to find emotional depth.
It is easy to pity Karen, and Griffith does excellent work constructing a character traveling through states of wallowing, self-pity, anger, understanding, fortitude, and confidence. Karen does not react the way Peter hopes she will because she is a more complicated woman than he realizes -- and Griffith effectively captures that complexity.
Peter is the more difficult character to pity, which is problematic because the play asks us often to do just that. He has a long act-two speech, pouring out his soul to his wife with little more justification than the fact that he is a man, and men have difficulty controlling their urges. Poor Peter.
Kershen complements Griffith's strong performance, but his character has far less depth, a fact of which the actor seems well aware. Throughout the show, as Peter spouts ever more excuses and weak justifications, Kershen does all he can do to humanize this weak man. But there is nothing Peter would like more than for somebody else to solve for him the problems he created. And such a character at the center of the play leaves a hole where we need some sort of emotional hook.
For Worse
NJ Repertory Company
179 Broadway, Long Branch
Tickets: $45; available online. Through April 10.
Patrick Maley may be reached at patrickjmaley@gmail.com. Find him on Twitter @PatrickJMaley. Find NJ.com/Entertainment on Facebook.