[Michael] Innocenti…nails it as the nebbishy Ben, seeming put-upon even when things are going his way. That makes things a bit harder for Caroline Wolfson’s Nancy. As the instigator of the drama, Nancy already has to work her way back into the audience’s good graces. That’s a much harder task when Ben is on the other side of the equation, although Wolfson’s emotional confessions manage to rescue Nancy by the end. The couple make a good anchor for the piece.
The set, designed by the multi-talented Innocenti, is primarily composed of three beds…The open set design lends itself to the sprawling conversation that dominates the second half of the show…”
As Mark and Mr. Donaldson, Kevin Hasser and Timothy Lynch are in danger of running away with the whole show. It seems almost redundant to point out Lynch’s comic talents, and the worldly, befuddled Abramson is the perfect vehicle for him. As Mark, Hasser positively shines. He’s charming, funny, just the right amount of gossipy, and one of the only characters in the play who understands the balance between people needing to confront relationship issues and people needing their privacy.
While the promo materials describe the play as a “screwball comedy,” Things You Shouldn’t Say operates asks some really deep questions about identity and our relationships with other people. At the end of the day, sometimes we don’t like ourselves very much – instead, we like what other people must see in us. But if what they like is the part of us that we hate… well, there’s the rub.
