Review: Gossip Ensnares Trio in SCENES FROM AN ADULTERY

Written by Ronan Noone; directed by Bridget Kathleen O'Leary; scenic design, Janie E. Howland; costume design, Molly Trainer; lighting design, Christopher Brusberg; sound design, David Remedios; stage manager, Leslie Sears

Cast in Alphabetical Order:

Ciaran Crawford, Gasper; Peter Stray, Tony; Leda Uberbacher, Lisa

Performances and Tickets:

Now through May 17, New Repertory Theatre, Arsenal Center for the Arts, 321 Arsenal Street, Watertown, Mass.; tickets are $30-$60 and are available online at www.newrep.org or by calling the Box Office at 617-923-8487

In his new dark comedy SCENES FROM AN ADULTERY (now enjoying its world premiere at the New Repertory Theatre in Watertown, Mass. through May 17), Irish American playwright Ronan Noone has taken the national pastime of gossip and turned it on its ear. When his three amiable characters - Tony (Peter Stray), his wife, Lisa (Leda Uberbacher), and their bachelor friend Gasper (Ciaran Crawford) - begin to let their imaginations run away with them regarding a mutual friend who may or may not be cheating on his wife, their own relationships with each other soon devolve. Over several weeks, and many pints of beer and wine, little secrets and harmless white lies morph into absurd accusations and wild mistrust. In the end it doesn't matter what is truth and what is fiction. What matters is what each person believes.

Both Noone and director Bridget Kathleen O'Leary skillfully lead their deft (and at times daft) trio through the downward spiral that guilt, insecurity and doubt can trigger. Slowly, almost imperceptibly, a creeping paranoia begins to take hold until what started out as idle - and almost tittering - speculation about the affairs of others eventually takes on a frantic and ridiculous life of its own.

Tony ends up at the center of the maelstrom as he tries unsuccessfully to mind his own business when first Gasper and then Lisa try to drag him into the discussion about their friend's possible adultery. As Tony becomes more and more ensnared, Stray makes him more and more unhinged. At first it seems that Tony simply has no patience for butting into other people's business, but the more vehemently he protests the more it seems he doth protest too much. Stray unravels gloriously as Tony, his voice growing more high-pitched as each new wrinkle in his own shady story is revealed. He manages to transform the character who seemed least endearing at the outset into the one who garners the most sympathy in the end.

As Tony's wife, Lisa, Uberbacher initially revels in the gossip that Gasper exuberantly shares. She obviously enjoys her friendship with him and isn't afraid of spicing it up with a hint of harmless flirtation. When talk turns to her best friend's marriage, however, she rallies to the couple's defense and can't help but intervene. This sets off a chain of events that has each of the play's characters pointing a finger at the other. Here Uberbacher smoothly navigates through Lisa's conflicting emotions. She is equally convincing whether seductively entreating her husband one minute or coolly doubting him the next.

It is Crawford who garners the most laughs, however. As Gasper he embellishes his stories with a combination of devilish instigation and faux innocence. After all, he's only gossiping out of genuine concern. With delightful deadpan delivery Crawford manages to be both the catalyst for the calamity that ensues and the calm at the eye of the storm he has created. His wonderfully lilting Irish brogue only adds to his boyish charm.

Janie E. Howland has designed an attractive unit set that serves as both an upscale loft apartment and a neighborhood Irish pub. Hardwood flooring, marble tiles and area rugs define kitchen, dining and living room spaces, while a prominent granite top kitchen island doubles as a wood-paneled bar complete with wrap-around brass foot rail. Christopher Brusberg's smart lighting design shifts scenes effortlessly between home and pub. Area lights narrow the focus to the island whenever Gasper and Tony belly up to the bar, and large rectangular light boxes attached to the back wall switch from soft white to bright reds, yellows, blues and greens whenever scenes - or moods - change accordingly.

With gentle irony that gradually escalates into near farce, Noone has written a deceptively thought-provoking play about the consequences of idle gossip and tiny lies. In SCENES FROM AN ADULTERY, it doesn't matter who did what to whom. What matters is who told what - or didn't. If you think that truth hurts, think again.

PHOTOS BY ANDREW BRILLIANT: Peter Stray as Tony, Leda Uberbacher as Lisa, and Ciaran Crawford as Gasper; Ciaran Crawford, Peter Stray and Leda Uberbacher; Peter Stray and Leda Uberbacher; Ciaran Crawford and Leda Uberbacher; Ciaran Crawford and Peter Stray