Anyway, the play begins with a fight between a couple that’s not married and have been together for four years. The fight is about an overheard comment from the man who tells his friend that that friend’s wife is really pretty, especially compared to his girlfriend. The comment is heard by the wife, who calls the girlfriend, and the play commences. Produced by MCC Theater and directed by Terry Kinney, the play premiered at the off-Broadway Lucille Lortel Theater on June 2, 2008 and ran through July 5. The cast included Piper Perabo, Pablo Schreiber, Alison Pill, and Thomas Sadoski. [2] The audience is asked to ponder as the characters reflect on their own lives, the collective concept of beauty, and the common question: How much is pretty worth? Reasons to Be Pretty (stylized in all-lowercase) is a play by Neil LaBute, his first to be staged on Broadway. The plot centers on four young working class friends and lovers who become increasingly dissatisfied with their dead-end lives and each other. Following The Shape of Things and Fat Pig, it is the final installment of a trilogy that focuses on modern-day obsession with physical appearance. [1] Productions [ edit ] The Australian premiere took place in May 2012 at the Darlinghurst Theatre in Sydney, directed by National Institute of Dramatic Arts graduate James Beach and starring Andrew Henry.

This is a play by Neil LaBute, who I know mostly from films he’s directed but he was a well-established playwright first. Though this and the sequel are more contemporary. Fat Pig -- this just opened in London, under the author's direction just as the trilogy finale opens in New York. There may not be a huge number of professional theatre makers in the ACT (and many keep moving out of town!) but those who are here should be celebrated and promoted. This is not about being better than any others. It is not about vertical comparisons. It is about the positive exploration of technique, and the positive promotion and horizontal growth of the industry in Canberra. There is room for all of us. Meeting with Lexi and Director Tim Sekuless at this very space to find out more, I find Tim seated in the studio’s performance space. By keeping true to the language of the text, the performance brings an American-style laugh-out-loud humour. Concurrently, it challenges the cross-societal issue of superficiality shared within Australian popular culture.At first the lower cased title seems more pretentious than meaningful. But once you've watched how an ill-conceived remark that's repeated out of context detonates the relationships of reasons to be pretty's four friends, Neil LaBute's reason for that lower casing makes perfect sense. As Lexi concludes: “With Reasons To Be Pretty this year, and the expectation of Reasons To be Happy next year, Mill Theatre is establishing a reputation for exciting live theatre and bringing a new dimension to Canberra’s already dynamic theatre scene.” Will Kent get his comeuppance? Will Steph get over her rage and move on with her life? Will Greg muster up enough the get up and go to take something life changing and positive out of the ill-chosen remark without which his 4-year relationship might have gone on another indecisive and non-life changing years? Will Kent get his comeuppance and will his marriage to Carly survive? It's well worth a trip to the Lortel Theater to find out. Lexi is a creative producer and performer in Australia. She created and ran Lakespeare & Co for over 3 years and is now permanently in Canberra producing 'not-Netflix' experiences at the Mill Theatre at Dairy Road. Cast: (*for actors reprising original roles) *Thomas Sadoski (Greg), Marin Ireland (Steph),* Piper Perabo (Carly) and Steven Pasquale (Kent).

The little remark that turns into a big deal —polarizing the Steph-Greg, Carly-Kent, Greg-Kent relationship — is part of some macho talk between the guys. Kent's comments about a very pretty new employee has Greg misexplaining his less beauty-conscious attitude towards Steph. If only we could edit our remarks before they slip off our tongues! But Greg's straight from lung to tongue utterance is unretrievable and unfortunately overheard by Carly, for whom the word ugly is a red flag that makes her feel honor-bound to report what she heard to her friend Steph. That prop will be central to the mechanics of the stage,” he says, pointing to an orange brutalist style chair. It’s a gift from a nearby Dairy Road business. Lexi is keen to expand: As odd as it seems, I came upon this play through a conversation with a Goodreads friend about Herman Hesse's Narcissus and Goldmund, which in part features a "beautiful" Goldmund for a time sleeping with a lot of "beautiful" women. Male predator? I don't think so, he's as much approached as approaching women, but you have to consider the source here (me: guy). Anyway, I was casting about for a play about beauty, and this one, that was nominated for and won Tony awards, is. Every seat in the house has a great view, and a different view. Patrons walk through the set to find your seats, adding to the intimacy of the space. This means, late arrivals or patrons who leave the theatre before intermission or the end will NOT BE ADMITTED TO THE THEATRE. Sometimes LaBute puts symmetrical patterns and point-scoring above plausibility. Steph's initial rage gets the play going but seems wildly disproportionate. You also wonder how Greg, who rather ostentatiously reads Poe, Hawthorne and Swift on the night-shift, has managed to stay friends with a philistine bully like Kent. And, although LaBute is clearly putting in a plea for the average-looking, morally decent guy like Greg, you feel he does this only by making all the other characters appear, at various times, contemptible.God this is SUUUCH a male apologist thesis, idc if it’s being ironic about it it just is. Men always do this, layer their true feelings, especially about women being psychotic, under layers of “irony”, “absurdity”, and “jokes” just say you hate women……… But the playwright also displays an unusually thoughtful side in this work while providing more complex characterizations than usual for him. While each of the four characters is given surprising aspects, it’s the perpetually befuddled Greg, who alternates between typically jerkish male behavior and genuine vulnerability and sensitivity, who most fascinates. Credit must especially go to Sadoski, who invests his performance with a compelling soulfulness. Presented by Jeffrey Richards, Jerry Frankel, Gary Goddard Entertainment, Ted Snowdon, Doug Nevin/Erica Lynn Schwartz, Ronald Frankel/Bat-Barry Prods., Kathleen Seidel, Kelpie Arts Llc., Jam Theatricals, Rachel Helson/Heather Provost