Theater Online - New York Theater Reviews

  

“Bhindi: ethnic, but easy to say.”  In Lina Patel’s “Perfect Fit,” we’re all too painfully reminded that in life, relationships can’t be labeled as easily as clothing lines.

Searching for an escape after a messy divorce, Radhika (Qurrat Ann Kadwani), a gifted clothing designer turned corporate “merchandiser,” returns to New York from LA to reconnect with longtime friends.  Her first stop is coffee with her old flame, Jake (Chris Davis).  The reunion is cut short when she’s introduced to his new ladyfriend, Hannah (Rashida M. Stewart) –who, it so happens, is African American.  (A fact that is met with more than a few raised eyebrows, as we’re led to believe the new love interest is a deviation from Jake’s more predictably WASPy tendencies.) The second requisite visit is Radhika’s former roommate, Mary Beth (Kate Geller), who’s having growing pains of her own as she struggles with a new born baby and hospital-bound doctor, Takashi (Dan Chen), for a husband.  As these three circles regale their common past and share current fears and frustrations, each serve to give voice to the unfortunately adult realization: Being a good Indian girl, a proper wife, and a helluva guy, isn’t as easy as they once thought.

As Radhika, Kadwani impresses and her natural charisma keeps the play moving by providing an engaging balance of both humor and hurt. Some of the show’s finest moments spring from the volley between Radhika (Kadwani) and Mary Beth (Geller), whose buoyant patter provides a delightful familiarity that is authentically satisfying.

  

Lina Patel’s script is conversational and personal with more than its fair share of enjoyable one-liners.  The story ably navigates around the trap of sitcom superficiality by tempering the characters’ joys (having a baby, landing a great job, etc.) with the disappointments and compromises necessary to get to that point.  Much is made of the play’s multi-ethnic pairings, particularly Jake and Hannah. On one hand, this choice serves to inform who these people have become. However, it fails to resonate given the play’s urban setting where such couplings are hardly shocking.

Director Maura Kelley (doing double duty as the play’s set designer) creates a dynamic that is bouncy and playful.  Her direction makes much use of the unit set, taking the audience swiftly from coffee shop to apartment to hospital waiting room with the quick adaptation of a few stock elements. 

For us 30-somethings out there, “Perfect Fit” somewhat reassuringly reminds us that there is no such thing as a perfect life or perfect relationship.  Rather, to borrow an expression from sartorial guru, Tim Gunn, just a whole lot of people out there striving to, “make it work.”