"2 Couples 2 is a dirty little farce about love, marriage, sex and infidelity....While I'd love to explain more about this play, I simply do not want to give away any of its secrets....This play is highly unconventional, cerebral, dramatic, and surprising. With many twists and turns, it expresses the complicated concept of love. With many forms and levels of love, the task isn't easy. Still, when walking away from this wacky comedy, you come back with all kinds of questions about relationships."
-Kayla Barrett, Associate Theater Criticfor John Garcia's THE COLUMN-
To read the full FABULOUS review check the bottom of this page!
|
"Sexy, racy, over the top, and unexpected...in a terrific way!"
- Jimmy Belasco
"The chemistry between the actors is outstanding. The timing is exceptional."
- Charles Ballinger
"This is one of Alejandro de la Costa's funniest plays. Straight, gay, or otherwise, it's a perfect entertainment."
- Mike Hathaway
"2 Couples 2 is a big ol' hunk of Velveeta with a heart...and a twist."
- Dylan Peck
|
This outrageous and sexy comedy will make you laugh, scandalize, titillate, and make you think about the inherent controversy of heterosexual marriage.
Two young married couples decide to take a weekend vacation together out by a lake. By mistake they end up renting 2 bed cabin instead of a 2 bedroom cabin. They have no privacy. They've known each other since college and are best friends, and they used to date each other's spouses. What the men don't know is that their wives are being unfaithful. What the wives don't know is that their husbands aren't being faithful either. But they all suspect each other! Does anyone dare confront their spouse knowing that their own infidelity might be exposed? And how long can they keep their secrets? This comedy about love, marriage, sex, and infidelity is inspired by the over-the-top Spanish Telenovelas and is written by our most popular and resident playwright Alejandro de la Costa.
This play is rated R due to language, subject matter, sexual situations, and because a couple of butts are exposed.
|
Starring
Dillon M Ford
Anne DeFilippo
Spencer Christian Nelson
Katie Reynolds
Directed by
Mark-Brian Sonna
|
2 Couples 2
Reviewed by Kayla Barrett, Associate Theater Critic
for John Garcia's THE COLUMN
Two young married couples take a weekend vacation together in a cabin by the
lake. By mistake they end up reserving a two bed cabin instead of a two bedroom
cabin. They have no privacy, they have been best friends since college, and to
make things more complicated they used to date each other's spouses.
The men have no idea that their wives are having an affair. What the women don't
know is that their husbands aren't being faithful either. They all suspect each
other but refuse to confront their spouses for fear of revealing their own
infidelities. In a small two bed cabin, just how long will they be able to keep
their secrets?
And who the hell is Paul? This play, written by MBS resident playwright
Alejandro de la Costa and inspired by over-the-top Spanish Telenovelas is a
whirlwind of twists, turns and who's doing who. This play is rated R for
language, se*ual content and butts. Lots and lots of butts.
Stone Cottage Theatre is an intimate setting. The wood panel walls, peaked
ceiling, green shutters and stone fireplace make a cozy little cabin sized room.
There are several scenes which will make you blush, and in this tiny space you
cannot pretend you missed them. The intimate space adds to the awkward and
suspenseful silences and anticipation.
This play is written for current times, making references to Glee, Punk'd and an
assortment of modern situations. Uplifting music choices by de la Costa include
Fun's "We Are Young" and The Wanted's "I'm Glad You Came". During scene changes,
electronic music is played.
2 Couples 2 is a dirty little farce about love, marriage, sex and infidelity. I
find it intriguing that Alejandro de la Costa gives the characters names that
begin with W, X, Y and Z. He also implements a suggestive cabin address. I
appreciate the fact that de la Costa oversees the production and works with
director Mark-Brian Sonna to ensure the original intent of the play. It isn't
often that one gets to see a play in its complete and unadulterated format.
The beginning of the play is a little slow, but eventually picks up pace. Dillon
M. Ford is Xav, sensitive and patient. Anne DeFilippo is his ditzy over-the-top
wife Zoe. DeFilippo's exaggerated actions and excessive volume comes across as
unnatural. However, her portrayal as Zoe is perhaps most true to the outrageous
females found in Telenovelas. Her cheesy, slightly annoying character queues
many of the play's laughing points, especially when she uses vulgar curses with
her perky innocent voice. She makes a suggestive and hilarious gesture when
explaining how she uses a spatula, and when she refers to "enchiladas" or
"tacos". Zoe's excessive energy and stupidity often tests Xav's patience. Ford's
reactive expressions during these times portray a humorously agitated husband.
The cute but dumb Will is played by Spencer Christian Nelson alongside Katie
Reynolds as his sarcastic and temperamental wife Yvette. Reynolds' facetious
attitude is funny. She makes the audience laugh when she struggles to come up
with a realistic lie. Nelson is, as my husband put it, "ridiculously funny". He
leaves a silly message for cabin management that seems to go on and on in a
request for a two bedroom cabin. He makes lewd, absurd gestures while somehow
maintaining a youthful charm. He suggests such activities as "Strip
Poker!...Strip Go Fish!... Strip Crazy 8's?" to no avail.
Amongst all the secrets and suspense, Anne DeFilippo simply makes us laugh. Her
character often gets angry but not about her marital disasters as you'd assume.
She always makes something big of something benign while naively shrugging off
the real shockers. She finally does suspect something is up when recalling the
boys' fishing trip: "They didn't bring any fish!" Katie Reynolds is dynamic in
her performance. She goes from simply sarcastic to insanely fierce when she
grabs the boys' wrists and, as they writhe in pain, orders them to get her some
Tylenol! We crack up when she says "I love you... they're the ones who are
supposed to be faithful".
Ford and Nelson share some vital scenes. They have great chemistry together and
make us laugh, blush and ponder. A memorable line from Ford is "Wow... this is
like a bad soap opera". All four actors are engaging. Physical comedy is a
substantial part of this play and facial expressions carry out many laughable
scenes. In one instance, Nelson looks like he is trying to ward off vampires as
he anticipates Yvette's vengeance. While I'd love to explain more about this
play, I simply do not want to give away any of its secrets.
This play is highly unconventional, cerebral, dramatic, and surprising. With
many twists and turns, it expresses the complicated concept of love. With many
forms and levels of love, the task isn't easy. Still, when walking away from
this wacky comedy, you come back with all kinds of questions about
relationships.
Reviewed by Kayla Barrett, Associate Theater Critic
for John Garcia's THE COLUMN
|
|
