Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Matt Williams’ ACTUALLY, WE’RE F**KED is a generic, workmanlike play that’s been polished to a professional sheen

• By drediman
• March 10, 2019
• No Comments

Ben Rappaport, Mairin Lee, Gabriel Sloyer, and Keren Lugo in Matt Williams’ “Actually, We’re F**ked” at the Cherry Lane Theatre. Photo by Monique Carboni.

Yesterday, I caught Matt Williams’ new play Actually, We’re F**ked at the Cherry Lane Theatre. The play tells the story of two seemingly normal youngish couples. When infidelity, secrets, and personal fears are (conveniently) uncovered, each of them is forced to reassess the things in life that are important to them and make disruptive but important lifestyle decisions, both individually and as part of a relationship.

Mr. Williams’ play is an accessible but telegraphed affair. The playwright clearly has an agenda that he wants to cover, and he does so efficiently over the course of 90 minutes – but at a price. In order to set up diametrically opposing arguments, Mr. Williams has assembled four archetypical characters, who – unfortunately but unsurprisingly – ultimately come across as two dimensional clichés in a sitcom or generic romcom rather than full-fledged human beings. Nevertheless, the play’s individual scenes are snappily-written and exude an undeniable workmanlike quality that keep it all hanging together.

The same can be said about the production, which has been directed by John Pasquin to a polished, thoroughly professional sheen. Kudos particularly to set designer Robin Vest, whose handsome but superficially bland set is just the right environment for Mr. Williams’ play to unfold in. The performances from the show’s attractive quartet of actors – Mairin Lee, Keren Lugo, Ben Rappaport, and Gabriel Sloyer – are similarly solid and competent, ensuring our engagement.

ACTUALLY, WE’RE F**KED
Off-Broadway, Play
Cherry Lane Theatre
1 hour, 30 minutes (without an intermission)
Through April 7