'Beyond Therapy' keeps audience on a roller-coaster ride of craziness.
Derek Perks, Laura Vincent, Jane Hunter and Joshua Mott star in Beyond Therapy at the Village Playhouse until Feb. 4.
Courtesy/E. c. Jones
Every moment in life is a teachable moment - at least it is if you are in therapy and someone else is trying to heal your broken life.
But in The Village Players' latest show 'Beyond Therapy' by Christopher Durang, it's clear the therapists need more therapy than their patients and the result is a hilarious and unique play that will have you laughing out loud and shaking your head at the depths of bizarreness into which it goes.
It looks into the lives of Prudence (Laura Vincent) and Bruce (Joshua Mott), two New Yorkers who are looking for love through the guidance of their therapists, and brought into each other's lives by a personal ad and a hope to find "the one".
And what a first meeting it is. Awkward would be a kind word to describe this scene and it doesn't take long to see why both of them are in therapy. Meeting at a local restaurant, the two share opening lines like "nice breasts" and "nice chest hair," and the audience is privy to the most neurotic, inappropriate conversation that even the best of friends have no business having.
They say things out loud that normally people would be saying in their head or when they're drunk. They have no filter but despite this reality, you can't help but laugh and feel bad for this mismatched duo and their unfortunate, but hysterical, interaction.
Besides being awkward, Bruce is bisexual and lives with his lover Bob (Christopher Douglas), but wants also wants to live traditionally with a woman. One of his most annoying points: he likes to cry to get his feelings out. Prudence has had a hard time settling down with a man, always finding imperfections. These facts lead to the most atrocious first date in history.
The next day, our failed couple head to their therapists to discuss recent happenings, and it's here we see their therapists are crazier than the patients.
Stuart Framingham (Derek Perks), Prudence's therapist, is an ego maniac who has seduction on his mind rather than therapy. Charlotte Wallace (Jane Hunter), Bruce's therapist, is absent-minded, inappropriate and uses the aid of a stuffed Snoopy to offer encouragement.
Because therapy is all about never giving up on yourself, against all reason, Bruce and Prudence meet up again and decide to date, making them and Bob the weirdest relationship trio ever, and so the story continues.
The scenes in this show get more absurd by the minute. In one scene, Bob is encouraged by Charlotte to express himself by way of shooting a fake gun at Prudence and Bruce. Later in that scene, everyone, with the addition of a waiter (Marc Giroux), are planning a trip to the disco.
It is scenes like this throughout the show that continually keep the audience on a roller-coaster of crazy. And while this whole story seems unrealistic, it's the characters in this show that make it a success.
Hunter as Charlotte is comedic acting at its best and between her stuttering, inappropriate outbursts and her loud '80s wardrobe, it's an unforgettable role. Perks' portrayal of Stuart is so believable as a shady, womanizing therapist that you couldn't help but loathe him.
Vincent and Mott as the mismatched Prudence and Bruce play so well off each other that they make dysfunctional and insane look normal. Funny both individually and together, their portrayal of a train wreck coupling is mesmerizing. Add Douglas' fantastic portrayal of the soft-spoken turned crazy Bob into the mix, and you may never date again.
This show is definitely an adult comedy at its best and full of characters you hope you never meet.
'Beyond Therapy' runs until Feb. 4, 8 p.m., at The Village Playhouse, 2190E Bloor St. W. Regular tickets are $20. To purchase tickets, please call 416-767-7702 or visit www.villageplayers.net