The Foreplay Play has had a long journey. Premiering first at a FullStop Collective evening of short plays, it made its way to MRT in a twenty-minute form. It now arrives in its stretched-out 75-minute version at… somebody’s apartment in Brooklyn.
That’s right. For those interested in seeing the inaugural production by Caps Lock Theatre, be prepared to hit the G-train. They’ve wisely decided to make it site-specific, adding an air of excitement before the show even begins. The audience anxiously awaits what is to go down in this (random person's“) charming place. Sitting on the floor, I can't help but look all around the apartment at props that are really just someone’s actual belongings. As the lights go down in the house (meaning, the stage manager asks an audience member to ‘hit that switch behind you’), the sound of the actors laughing and climbing up the stairs in the hallway immediately draws us in and gives new meaning to the word ‘realism.’
The (fore)play involves two couples: lesbians Kelly (the dominant one, played by Parker Leventer) and Izzy (the feminine one, played by Diana Oh), who have invited the low-key Kyle (Nic Grelli) and the antsy Anika (Lindsey Austen) over for a wild night.
The setup is intriguing and seeing the shifting alliances between the four characters provides some fun. Playwright Mariah MacCarthy includes simple yet effective comedy, such as when Izzy burns dinner and declares “Fuck you chicken,” that goes a long way because it’s so relatable. Plus, there’s an interesting monologue (nicely delivered by Leventer) in which Kelly graphically and confidently describes how she and Izzy met. More than most plays I’ve seen recently, this playwright devises clever, plausible ways for the characters to exit and return (We need a cigarette break! We need a bottle opener for this wine!). These exits are especially credible in the apartment setting.
There is a star performance in this production. Diana Oh’s portrayal of Izzie is fascinatingly authentic. She has a radiant ability to crack under pressure (screaming into a pillow) and then act natural as another character enters. She puts on a grand façade of composure without ever over-doing it. Oh allows the circumstances of the play to effect her character gradually and convincingly. When Kelly gives Izzy a wet willy, Oh subtly asks “What’s wrong with you?” leaving so much room for subtext beneath the line. She means more than 'what's wrong with you' in this moment. She means in their relationship.
Nic Grelli brings a sweet charm to Kyle, the absolutely adorable guy who plays guitar and wants to please everyone. Grelli is a master downplayer and brings a way different energy to the room than the women. There’s also some great sexual tension between Izzy and Kyle. When they’re on stage by themselves, they engage each other and the audience lucratively.
For my money, the improvised moments in the production almost always work. The actors are looser and more organic while riffing off each other. There’s a sensational unpredictability for both the characters and the audience during a game of Spin the Bottle.
The play, though, turns manic by the end. The back-and-forth fighting/foreplay/fighting/foreplay/fighting/foreplay grows tiresome as the actors are forced to break records, play with knives and engage in an unnecessary game of Twister (too bad -- Spin the Bottle was riveting). While there’s a nice structure to the first half of the play, the second half veers. And because I never fully understand why Kyle and Ani want to go this far with a lesbian couple, and why Izzy and Kellly want to go this far with a straight couple, Izzy’s tears in the play’s final moments are more awkward than meaningful.
