Clever Little Lies
Off-Broadway at the Westside Theatre

If you want to see Marlo Thomas, ‘That Girl’ we all know and love, you can do it 8 times a week at the Westside Theatre in a charming little play about two couples dealing with life, love and their little lies.

This is not Fun With Dick & Jane or Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice but some of the names are the same.  The two couples I am referring to are Alice (Marlo Thomas) and husband Bill (Greg Mullavey), their son Billy (George Merrick) and his wife Jane (Kate Wetherhead).  In the first scene we have Billy breaking down in the locker room at the tennis club and confessing to his father that he is having an affair with a much younger woman who happens to be a personal trainer at his gym.  Despite having Jane at home with a brand new baby, he’s in love with this other girl and intends on continuing the affair. Father tries desperately to talk some sense into Billy, to no avail and they go their separate ways.  When Bill Sr. gets home, he is met by his loving wife Alice. Bill is distracted after the locker room conversation and trying to hide it, but as married couples often do, Alice picks up on it and eventually gets to the truth.    Later that evening the kids come to visit with the baby and its no wonder that everyone but Jane is on edge.  It turns into a madcap evening that’s full of surprises.  You would think that Billy’s affair will be exposed, and it almost is when Alice has a slip of the tongue.  To cover, she quickly admits the ‘affair’ she was speaking of was her own that took place 40 years prior, and leaves everyone in the room agape.  Oh what lengths our parents will go  to protect us?  It was a sobering moment, especially for Billy who is snapped out of his fantasy and back to reality.

So it might be over 40 years since we’ve seen ‘That Girl’ in our living rooms, but she’s just as lovely as ever, and looks right at home on the stage. Greg Mullavey is wonderful in the father role with his quiet wit that almost silently steals the show.  Merrick and Wetherhead also put on admirable performances.  This one is full of lies and more laughs than you can imagine. I'm not lying when I say don’t miss it. Performances run through January 3, 2016. Run time is 90 minutes with no intermission. For tickets and more information visit the show website at  http://www.cleverlittlelies.com/ and check out my show page for discounts here –ThisbroadSway 10/15/15