"I don't think God punishes people for specific things," Christopher Durang existentially muses in "The Marriage of Bette and Boo." "I think he punishes people in general, for no reason."
Long before "Family Guy" and "South Park" combined dysfunctional domestic life with viciously dark humor, Durang, an absurdist playwright most noted for exploring Roman Catholic dogma, thoroughly dissected his childhood back in 1985 in this tragicomic, relentless memory play.
Matt, an obvious stand-in for Mr. Durang, hopelessly attempts to make sense of his parents' personalities. Three decades of marriage, divorce, alcoholism, Catholicism, nervous breakdowns and death are played out in 33 speedy, carefully choreographed sketches. It is a symphony of madness.
Check out the characters: a stroke victim who speaks in gibberish, a sanitarium patient who writes apology notes for imagined transgressions, an obstetrician who dumps dead babies on the floor, a priest who entertains by imitating a piece of bacon, a misogynistic husband who refers to his wife as the "dumbest white woman alive," and an obsessive-compulsive mother who dreams of naming her children after Winnie the Poo characters.
The challenge of the play is to not only master its broad humor and quick pace, but to hit upon the hidden depths and sadness of each character. As directed by Walter Bobbie, this fabulously entertaining, emotionally drenching revival sports a fantastic cast including Kate Jennings Grant (Bette), Christopher Evan Welch (Boo), John Glover (Karl), Victoria Calrk (Margaret), Julie Hagerty (Soot) and Terry Beaver (Father Donnally).
Don't force us to pick our favorites, but Ms. Grant, who plays Bette like a cheerleader on steroids whose world comes crumbling down due to her husband's alcoholism and four stillborn childbirths, probably tops the list. We also adored Mr. Welch, who played Boo as a confused, overgrown child. It's too bad these characters never connect, leaving their son to painfully pick up the broken shards of glass.
Photo: Newsday/Ari Mintz
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