Playwright: Rob Mersola. At: Pride Films and Plays at Hydrate, 3458 N. Halsted St. Phone: 800-838-3006;$15. Runs through: Nov. 26
Our setting is swinging Manhattan, but could as easily be any city, anywhere. Flighty Josie and her gay-boy chum, Calvin, decide that their social lives have too much sex and not enough romance. Their assessment is correct: Josie's boyfriend, Harlan, is a lout focused on his own jaw-dropping package while stockbroker Charlie, whom Calvinuh, meets in a public restroom, says he already has a significant other. He doeshis bossy fiancée Elaine, who is appalled to learn that her rich hub-to-be is queer, even to calling him the (gasp!) f-word. The wild card in this shuffle is a flirtatious gypsy named Guiseppe, who cheerfully dispenses candid advice and judgment-free comfort.
At first glance, Rob Mersola's bed-and-bathroom-stall farce would seem to occupy the same territory as the long-running Women Are Crazy Because Men Are Assholes: attractive young people in thrall to their appetites, who swill alcohol by the gallon and open wide at the drop of an "oh-why-not?" What distinguishes Love Sucks! from its genre, however, is its wholesale acknowledgment of its sheer artificiality.
The theme, introduced by the lone player in this screwball game, is that everybody is a liar. Josie and Elaine claim to love their beaux but are, in fact, intent on bettering their social status. Charlie claims to desire a het lifestylewith an occasional excursion onto the down-lowbut really wants a cozy same-sex relationship. Harlan claims to like people for reasons other than his own sexual gratification and Calvin's lofty vows to play harder-to-get crumble at the first glimpse of foreskin. Even Guiseppe's accent is a polyglot pastiche of Latin-lover croons. The plot resolution doesn't bring everyone to a realization that honesty is the best policyno way!but self-awareness enabling them to recognize truth from fiction, and to keep both in their proper place.
Under John Nasca's direction, the six cast members embrace their live-action-cartoon universe with an enthusiasm rendering its amoral inhabitants immediately engaging. The vocal range of most young actors essaying screwball comedy tend to grow only louder and shriller, but Chad Ryan, Cyra K. Polizzi and Edward Fraimplaying, respectively, Calvin, Josie and the thoroughly charming Guiseppeexercise their voices with the virtuosity of opera singers, while Kevin Webb works his face into expressions, revealing subtext belying his buttoned-up appearance. The results make for an intimate bar entertainment that you don't need a drink to enjoy.