Under the accomplished direction of Gregory Cohen, the darkly comic drama begins smack in the middle of a furious argument laden with expletives and threats against goldfish between live-in partners Steph and Greg. It’s a scene anyone who has been in a relationship of any kind will recognize, in which two people who love each other hurt each other because of a miscommunication.
And what is at the heart of the issue? A single word, “regular,” which Greg has used to describe Steph to his friends, touching off a crisis within their relationship and in Steph’s sense of self. To Greg, it’s just a throwaway word he means in a way he assumes is obvious. But he also doesn’t differentiate between “pot” and “skillet” when describing what Steph threw at him upon walking out, and he believes the word “women” in the dictionary should be followed only by an ominous blank space as a warning to all men. Greg’s lack of regard for the real effect of words is tested as the play unfolds.
Besides Steph, interactions with his coworker Kent (Robert Adams) and Kent’s wife Carly (Courtney Chudleigh) force Greg to acknowledge his blind spots and make his own decisions over the course of several months. Kent bullishly expects Greg to support his goals and guard his secrets, and Carly, who had precipitated the initial confrontation between Steph and Greg, reveals that there are truths even she doesn’t want to see. Greg’s development is subtle, his growth implicitly revealed through his words and actions, contrasting with the outward changes we see in the female characters.
All four actors deliver superb performances, embodying their characters believably. Ali Kendall channels Anne Hathaway (only better) with her feisty and highly articulate turn as Steph, and Johnny Martin as Greg is especially natural and grounded in his evolving character, making his realizations genuine. To the credit of all the actors and director, the very contemporary, hardened dialogue is delivered with just the right intonation and pace in every scene, whether comic or dramatic.
Scenes advance in vignettes, with a few seconds of darkness and an appropriately themed song in between each, helping to mark the amount of time that passes over the course of the story. The realistically detailed, tri-part stage, designed by Naomi Kasahara and managed by Natalie Figaredo, delineates different locations (apartment, office kitchen, mall food court and restaurant) effectively.
The beauty of Reasons to Be Pretty is in its lack of romance. Relationships between characters are revealed in the raw light of reality rather than through the softened lens of love as we would like it to be. Getting rid of that blurry filter is the only way to see the truth and then act upon it. This is a courageous production, not for the faint of heart but definitely refreshing and cathartic.
Reasons to Be Pretty is performed in the Long Beach Playhouse Studio Theatre, 5021 E. Anaheim St., through Aug. 20. Shows are Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm, Sundays at 2pm. Tickets are $20-$24. For tickets and information, call the box office at (562) 494-1014, or visit lbplayhouse.org.
