Playwright: Richard Dresser
At: Infamous Commonwealth Theatre at the Athenaeum, 2936 N. Southport Ave.
Phone: (773) 935-6860; $20
Runs through: Sept. 26
Richard Dresser's plays are populated with characters exhibiting an utter lack of skepticism and no sense of humor whatsoever—deficits compelling them to share their most intimate thoughts with one another, only to be shocked when these revelations are later employed as ammunition in subsequent disputes. Their gullibility makes them easy prey for a controlling provocateur armed with ruthless candor, a talent for manipulation and a likewise restrictive cosmological view.
The biggest gull appears to be Max, who blames his parents' unhappy marriage for his own failures. His fiancée Jennifer is disquieted by her betrothed's compulsive behavior, but takes solace in the REALLY dysfunctional marital dynamic of his brother. Trouble is, the allegedly suffering Barry doggedly proclaims loyalty to his spouse—who regards the entire family as a challenging renovation project—like a POW with Stockholm Syndrome. When a clumsily worded invitation causes the imperious Patty to go bunny-boiler, escalating tensions make for warfare with judgments flying thick and fast.
Wonderful World explores the human tendency to cling to comforting memories—especially when they excuse our own shortcomings—even when their accuracy is arguable. (Max recalls being seven years old when their father died, while Barry insists he was all of 18. 'You were helpless, but you WEREN'T a child!')
Dresser also renounces the cult of Total Honesty In Relationships as selfish and infantile, basing his lovers' accord on facts left UNconfessed. As the proverb goes, two can keep a secret if one of them is dead. Fortunately, the lovers learn the wisdom of keeping SOME knowledge private before such draconian measures become necessary.
Under the direction of Paul Cotter, the company assembled for this Infamous Commonwealth Theatre production play their material as latter-day Theatre Of The Absurd, their wholesale commitment to their myopic personae amplifying the ambiguity of the assessments engendered thereby. And while Dresser sometimes overdoes the quasi-mantraic repetition of key phrases—a prize should be offered audience members correctly counting the number of times 'I love Patty, but' is uttered in the course of the action—our affection for these exasperating mortals keeps our attention riveted on their progress right up to the final surprise twist (which I hope you don't expect ME to tell you).