The Tight Drama of Life in the Shadows

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Perfect Arrangement poster

It’s the Spring of 1950. Bob and Millie are at a gathering with a few other people from work. Bob’s boss at the Department of State lets them know that there’s been new interest in rooting-out subversive elements in government. They’re not just looking for communists anymore. They’re also looking for homosexuals. This is particularly bad news for Bob and Millie as they are both gay and in committed relationships with Jim and Norma who live next door. It had been such a nice situation. Now it’s in jeopardy in Perfect Engagement. Playwright Topher Payne’s comedic period drama makes a deeply engaging appearance onstage this month in a production with Theatrical Tendencies. Director Mark E. Schuster assembles a well-articulated cast for a drama about the danger that so many faced in the past just trying to be themselves.

Mark Neufang brings considerable gravity to the role of Bob Martindale, a man forced to confront some of the decisions that he is forced to make in the interest of making a living working for the government. Meredith White delivers considerable complexity in the role of Bob’s wife Millie. White cleverly follows the tight corners that Millie must tread as a woman pretending to be a traditional hetero housewife in 1950 when she would much rather openly spend time with her true love Norma, who is also pretending to be a traditional housewife to Ted next door. Jenny Kosek conjures a crushing intensity of inner turmoil in the role of Norma. Christopher Orth rounds-out the central cast as a witty guy who is forced to deal with the same hell that his wife and neighbors are struggling with.

Theatrical Tendencies’ production of Perfect Arrangement continues through Sunday, Feb. 23 at Inspiration Studios, 1500 S. 73rd St. For more information, visit Inspiration Studios online.