Emily Kaye Lazzaro’s THREE (playing through June 20th)
is a naughty little comedy in the “Sex and the City” mold. Lazzaro writes
lovely, sharp dialogue for three college roommates who experiment (none too
successfully) with sex, alcohol and life.
The dramedy is divided into three parts (and a coda), each
surrounding a life changing event, like graduation or marriage. The search for
love and a place in the world yields lots of laughter and a few surprises.
Director A. Nora Long’s smart production features a star turn by Sarah
Elizabeth Bedard as the loud, randy roommate who uses liquor and sex to
obliterate her loneliness; the charismatic Kelly Chick as the roommate who
wonders if she’s a lesbian and can’t wait to reveal a secret; and the pert
Tasia Jones whose wedding plans bring the three together again.
Lazzaro mines clever humor around the concept of a “wedding
industrial complex” and she creates funny, sympathetic characters who stumble
and get back up again—but the
sexual subtext about consent in the play doesn’t really gel because we can’t
believe it’s in that character’s make-up, at least the way she’s portrayed in
Long’s production. (I don’t want to reveal plot points so I’ll just leave it
there.)
