Why do people get married? Why are so many people divorced? How does something that starts out promising inevitably turn sour?
"Wedlock," running through Nov. 12 at the Alleyway Theatre, explores the various causes of unhappy marriages. A play of this sort is not meant for engaged couples or married ones, whether they're happy or not.
Written by Joshua Faigen and directed by Neal Radice, the world premiere of "Wedlock" grapples with the difficult situations that oftentimes afflict married life.
Mimicking the play "I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change!" the characters wade through the typical lows and heartaches of marriage. Situations range from ideally comical to obscenely dramatic, yet all land in the category of clich?(c).
Characters spend their time on stage refusing to listen to each other, working too much and too late, or trying to get their partner to do chores, and other topics that television sitcoms and commercials have already beaten to death.
Fortunately, Faigen and Radice sprinkle humor throughout the play. Characters express urges to rip a spouse in half to get them to do clean the garage, pay the bills, or find another car insurance company. The venting of character frustration seemed very satisfying at times, and "Wedlock" brings those sadistic desires to life with a full-fledged, hair-pulling, bone-crunching brawl.
The play's addition of duo monologues adds comic appeal as well. During one scene, a couple discusses their day and the wife simply adds that even after running a million errands that day, she still found the time to sleep with the plumber.
During another scene using the duo monologue method, a couple washes dishes after a party. Each spouse goes on at length about how they've enjoyed themselves at the party, though it becomes rather obvious that neither is at all concerned about their partner's thoughts.
At points, the characters' simultaneous clamoring makes it difficult to distinguish what they're saying.
The outdated and clich?(c) situations could have been omitted. Ignorance between couples has exceeded its worth in modern entertainment to the point of drastic overkill. To take a serious topic such as holy matrimony and add a comical spoof is one thing, but turning it into a melodramatic episode is another.
During one scene, a husband comes home from work late and his wife won't look at or talk to him. The husband tries to console his wife to make her believe that he was really working and not tramping himself around town. Soon he grows aggravated and whips the papers from his briefcase all over the stage. A German lullaby of suicide is sung in the background.
The scene seems to equate marriage with suicide.
Several audience members agreed that the play takes a drastic turn from amusing to ridiculously theatrical and one-sided.
Everyone in a relationship throughout the play was so busy or sick of listening to his or her spouse, ironically pushing many of them to commit adultery. What's sadder is that people who were once in love want to tear each other's limbs off instead of taking out the garbage. The play made problems that can be worked out by responsible adults seem dire and inexcusable.
Photo: Courtesy of Matthew Messina, from the RMBERS' Instagram page
