Poor Behavior
@Primary Stages at the Duke on 42nd Street
Yes, yes….It always starts with one person behaving badly, then two, and before you know it the whole lot is behaving badly. It’s Poor Behavior at it’s best and it’s insane and funny.
This story takes place in the weekend getaway home of Ella and Peter, Couple #1. The invited guests are Ian and Maureen Couple #2
Some general information on this cast of characters:
Ian - Brian Avers (husband to Maureen, Irish, self absorbed, outspoken - as in no filter)
Maureen - Heidi Armbruster (a bit of a ditsy blonde, emotional, unstable and also referred to as completely raving bonkers, with past suicidal tendencies)
Peter - Jeff Biehl (husband of Ella-A rather wimpy nice guy – yes, the kind that finish last.)
Ella - Katie Kreisler (Attractive, Self-confident, has her act together)
When the play opens its apparent that there has been a lot of wine consumed. Ian is on a wild rant turning into a heated debate with Ella about nothing being good, the wine being crap, and trees being moral, all while the other halves of these relationships seem non-existent. They must have felt this way too, because both Maureen and Peter end up going to bed leaving Ian and Ella to continue their poor behavior alone. Some more wine and heated discussion is exchanged, and Ian surprises Ella with the news of his fathers recent death, for which he is apparently feeling guilty for not going to see him or attending the funeral. At the moment Ella moves into console him, Maureen comes out of the bedroom to find them in a somewhat compromising position. The next morning the fun begins. The story gets a bit complex at this point.
Maureen, confronts Ian about the prior evening and he lets her believe, without really saying so, that something is going on between he and Ella, when in fact it is not the case. At least not yet anyway. From there one by one everyone is put in the know, and it’s a bad scene with bad muffins being chewed up and spit out. It was pretty funny as to how many offers of coffee, eggs, and tea, were given throughout this scene, but none of it ever happens…just bad muffins. I couldn’t help but think these marriages could have been saved if they just
could have gotten a cup of coffee! The first act ends with the four of them agreeing to go into town to eat.
They return with groceries. The air is thick with tension and finally the one person that has been able to hold it together, Peter, loses it entirely. You see, he’s been waiting outside for a pair of scissors to cut the basil that never came. So he storms in throwing the basil, complete with roots and dirt, clear across the room and the battle moves to Ella and Peter. I like the way the writer (Therese Rebeck) displays here the instinctual behavior of people and how they find delight in the misery of others. The worse the situation with one couple, the better it became with the other. But this cannot last for long, and there are a lot of comings and goings and everything continues to fall apart until it’s just Ian and Ella left. And guess what happens next? You guessed it. More Poor Behavior. Peter comes back to catch them red handed, and reveals Maureen has been in a car accident (she’ll be okay) and then leaves. Ella is left with the cold and emotionless Ian and you are left wondering if he is the Irish Devil himself?
This show is full of black humor, and a lot of insight to the human psyche. It will keep you thinking and you will most likely find yourself relating to the story in many different ways. This is a well-acted and captivating story. Pack your bag and spend a weekend of insanity in the country. Get tickets - Click Here. This show only runs through 9/7/14 -thisbroadSway 8/23/14