Three suburban couples search for happiness in the three short episodes that make up John Cariani's bleak cul-de-sac. To create a sense of sameness and claustrophobia, scenic designer Sandra Goldmark has distilled the three homes onto a circular raked stage with minimal furniture. She backs the stage with two arced walls that glow a comforting suburban green as a streetlight casts an eerie orange glow (the nuanced lighting is by R. Lee Kennedy).
In the play's first third, Roger (a terrifically plaintive John Wellmann) arrives home and announces he's been passed over for a promotion. Unfortunately, Roger's wife, Jill (an archly shrill Robyn Hussa), has trouble focusing on his despair. She's too busy comparing their happiness to that of their neighbors, the Joneses.
The second third introduces the Smiths, also worried about how their world compares to that of the seemingly blissful Joneses. They're coping with wife Christy's depression and agoraphobia, a result of their son's disappearance, and husband James' adultery, the result of their passionless marriage. Monica Russell and James Weber bring the Smiths to life with sensitivity.
Ironically, the much-envied Joneses (an unbearably frantic Cariani and Nicole Alifante) live in a world as sad as those of their neighbors, and as they attempt to re-create their "usual" Friday-night routine, the play's darkest episode unfolds.
Cariani's stance toward the assumed promise of happiness is unquestionably uncompromising and raw. But after he quickly establishes the central conflict for each couple, his writing becomes unduly repetitive -- perhaps in an effort to stress the cookie-cutter world of suburbia. The circularity of the writing is only emphasized by director Jack Cummings III's hard-hitting production. Though he may be trying to focus on the characters' desperation, cul-de-sac becomes an unpleasant, if intriguing, place to visit.
Presented by Transport Group
at the Connelly Theatre, 220 E. Fourth St., NYC.
April 30-May 13. Tue.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sat., 2 p.m.; Sun., 3 p.m.
(212) 352-3101 or www.theatermania.com.