"DINNER WITH FRIENDS" at Goodman Theatre
BY LUCIA MAURO
Judging by the uncomfortable laughs and audible sighs of the Goodman Theatre audience, Donald Margulies’ non-romantic comedy, "Dinner with Friends," boasts a high recognition factor. And that’s not necessarily a good thing.
On the surface, this modern-day relationship play that posits the safe and time-worn marriage of Gabe and Karen against the frenzied divorce of their best friends Tom and Beth appears to speak to the shaky foundation upon which many marriages (no matter how seemingly solid) are built. Margulies also suggests that our reliance on friends for support may be a self-serving form of co-dependency.
Here those rocky relationships spur a rather superficial grappling with the false security of marriage and family. And, although the issues are valid and Margulies writes with witty exactitude, he has created such shallow, judgmental, moralizing and self-justifying characters that it’s painful to be in their self-obsessed presence for one evening – an evening that feels like a lifetime awash in whiny braggadocio.
The opening scene, in which food writers Gabe and Karen entertain Beth with over-emotive stories about their recent trendy trip to Tuscany and a gourmet meal replete with almond-polenta cake, epitomizes self-absorption. Between the artisanal cheeses and truffle oil, Beth blurts out that she and the currently absent Tom are getting a divorce after almost 13 years of marriage. Both couples have children (whom we only hear fiddling around with videotapes off stage), and there appears to be an odd imbalance in income levels.
Unless they’re partners with Martha Stewart, it’s hard to believe that food writers Gabe and Karen can afford a mansion in Connecticut and a summer home in Martha’s Vineyard. Attorney Tom appears not as wealthy, but comfortable enough to support Beth’s delusional dream of being a visual artist. The play – which received the 2000 Pulitzer Prize – really just consists of San Pellegrino-sipping posers basking in Williams-Sonoma perfection. So as much as it sparks a glimmer of familiarity to many middle-aged couples, the work rings disturbingly false.
"Dinner with Friends" takes us through the downfall of Tom and Beth’s doomed-from-the-start marriage (as illustrated by a blissfully untruthful flashback scene when they meet in Martha’s Vineyard), and how their divorce forces Gabe and Karen to confront the smug little travails of their own union. Over the course of the play, we witness the inevitable dissolution of a friendship, which had been predicated on unspoken one-upmanship in the first place.
After all, Karen can measure her perfect china, her perfect CuisineArt, her perfect décor only against Beth’s culinary shortcomings and "neopsychotic" art. Gabe assures himself that he is a loving family man only against Tom’s need for wild extramarital sex.
Margulies essentially offers us two alternatives: Stay in a loving but unadventurous marriage (not unlike a "Diamonds are forever" ad) or admit that, since marriage is a highly flawed value anyway --to paraphrase a line from the play --don’t fight the urge to chuck it all. Just run away from any sense of responsibility. Either choice is disheartening. And Margulies, whose self-indulgent characters are beyond nauseating, doesn’t seem to recognize that marriage can be a vital and highly satisfying experience. To him, it’s either a prison sentence to endure or a prison from which to escape.
Another problematic mixed message coming out of the play is the inference that a marriage can survive if the man (here, Gabe) is sufficiently emasculated and worn down -- fearing that his wife will cut off his balls if he dares to look at another woman. So life becomes one exhausted – and guilt-racked -- quest to remain in the illusion of a comfort zone. The other message is that a marriage can be saved if, according to Tom, his wife gave him a handjob in the movie theater. His biggest complaint is that Beth won’t service him at a whim. But he and his new girlfriend, a travel agent, manage to jog several miles every morning and have sex in the shower.
The only redeeming moment of the play happens at the very end when Karen desperately asks, "How do we not get lost?"; Gabe responds by stressing the vigilance of not letting practical matters get in the way of spontaneity and abandon. But I couldn’t help think that Karen and Gabe would continue their "Bon Appetit" magazine-spread of a life – maybe even refurbish a farmhouse in Tuscany! Not really living, but trying to recreate a vision of what swanky lifestyle magazines tell us life should be like.
Goodman Theatre’s over-produced staging, directed by Steve Scott, features two layered performances by Mary Beth Fisher as Karen and Scott Jaeck as Gabe. But Suellen Burton’s one-hysterical-note Beth and James Krag’s bland and slightly creepy Tom throw off the balance of some generally committed, and convincing, performances.
Most disturbing, however, is the Goodman’s need for massive scenery in a theater that is engagingly intimate. Geoffrey M. Curley, usually the master of resourceful minimalism, has been asked to create a living-room window out of "Land of the Giants" (perhaps to obviously evoke the false grandeur of these people’s lives), as well as a large-scale bar where Gabe and Tom meet to talk. But, since there are no supporting characters (not even a bartender), the men look ridiculous sipping mineral water at an elaborate drinking establishment that appears to be closed.•
Maybe if the design were scaled down and, more importantly, Margulies’ play minimized its grating, talky over-analysis, the quiet simplicity of a fulfilling life could take center stage.
"Dinner with Friends" runs through April 5 at Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn. Tickets: $30-$50. Call 312-443-3800 or log onto www.goodman-theatre.org.
