Review: 'EXPOSED' BY BETH HENLEY at Black Box Performing Arts Center

Spiritual teacher Buddha once said, "There are three things that cannot be long hidden: The sun. The moon. And the truth.

In Beth Henley's one-act play "Exposed," directed by Matt Okin and currently staged at the Black Box Performing Arts Center in Englewood, it's late-1990s Los Angeles right before Christmas. Jane (Danielle MacMath), a menopausal mother who has a son, is dressed in a classic ugly Christmas sweater and her marriage to a tabloid journalist is crumbling beneath a cheery facade of painful smiles, rationalizations and denial.

At a bar, she meets Reb (Ilana Schimmel), who spent her life in foster care and is a drug addict with a Southern Cali stoner drawl who was locked up for assaulting a police officer over the towing of her brother Billy's car (Kentrell Loftin)- someone who she steals money from, but claims to love.

"I don't understand why the people I love the most end up not loving me," asks Jane rhetorically.

"You're always hurt by the ones you love," Reb offers in a low, slowed husky voice. "That's why those guys with any real wisdom like Buddha or Jesus never have any families or stuff. In a little bit from now, you'll look back from now and think this is funny."

Only it's not.

In what is to the rest of the world, the happiest time of the year, it's merely winter solstice to these characters: the year's darkest time when either of Earth's poles reaches its maximum tilt away from the Sun.

And Jane's worst nightmare about her "bear-bear" is a reality: her husband, Mike (Mike Gardiner) is having an affair with the breathy, wild-haired, satin-robe-clad Pye (Katie North). The two get intoxicated and have wild nights together unbeknownst to Jane who bears the responsibility of caring for their only son, Stuart and her sanity begins to slip propelled by the stress of her failing marriage and the booze-and menopause-induced auditory hallucinations of some big revelation.

While the play begins with the dissonance of sounding beepers in various obnoxious ringtones from "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" to "Take Me Out to the Ballgame," there is a clear communication breakdown between all involved parties. While only one character is imprisoned, all are guilty of their crimes: a mother who wishes her own son wasn't her's; a workaholic who is cheating on his wife and feels excused by dishonoring his commitment to her by making the absurd claim that his wedding band irritates his finger. Finally, a relationship between two interracial foster brothers hangs on by a thread and eventually drives low self-esteem-plagued Reb up the cliff (literally).

"You can tell me to fuck off, I like to suffer," says Billy in one scene to an intoxicated Pye who summons his company after-hours.

"You're so lost," she retorts.

"I know, it's beautiful," he says.

With explosive performances and intimate, honest dialogue exchanged between virtual strangers that feels very real, "Exposed" is easily the Black Box Performing Arts Center's finest play to date and a must-see. If you're in your own personal hour of darkness, the play shows that hope is tangible, the truth is liberating and love always prevails.

For more information and to purchase tickets for "Exposed," please visit: https://www.blackboxpac.com/.

Photo Credit: Florian Wahl