‘Law & Order’ regular Julianne Nicholson stars in a smart Manhattan comedy

Clever wordplay and ace performances makes ‘This' an Off Broadway pleasure

BY MICHAEL SOMMERS

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

OFF BROADWAY REVIEW

A smart comedy for smart people, "This" freshens an unexceptional Manhattan story with a good deal of clever conversation and a dash of rueful feelings.

Premiering Wednesday in a top-notch production by and at Playwrights Horizons, "This" involves several 30-something New Yorkers of today dealing none too well with, oh, the usual things — marriage, death, desire, infidelity and, more than anything, regret.

Playwright Melissa James Gibson begins "This" with a little dinner party. A bickering couple, hosts Tom (Darren Pettie) and Marrell (Eisa Davis) are terribly preoccupied by their newborn infant fretting in the next room. Meanwhile, Marrell has set up her widowed college pal Jane (Julianne Nicholson) with handsome Jean-Pierre (Louis Cancelmi), a French doctor "Without Borders."

"I always think that sounds like the doctor has a messy personal life," remarks Alan (Glenn Fitzgerald), the would-be witty gay chum found at many such dinners.

"That's frequently the case actually," says Jean-Pierre.

Jean-Pierre proves to be only an incidental observer in Gibson's play, which soon involves a brief tryst between Tom and Jane and the gnawing guilt she feels about betraying her best friend Marrell. As the story proceeds over the next few days, it becomes apparent that nice, sensitive Jane is still a wreck over unexpectedly losing her husband barely a year before, and the decisions she makes are not wise.

Let's say no more about the plot other than mentioning two points. Otherwise purposeless Alan is renowned for his ability to recall verbatim everything he experiences (he demonstrates his mnemonical gift during a chat show sequence); a talent handy for later he-said-she-said confrontations. And several times, the meaning of the play's title is defined — and always differently, every time.

Up-and-coming author of the Obie-winning "[sic]" and "Suitcase," Gibson crafts very amusing, very actable conversation that somehow sounds like everyday currency. From a funny verbal party game in the first scene that neatly engages viewers and sets up the story, all the way through to a heartfelt closing monologue by Jane, Gibson's quick, cunning way with words is striking.

Of course, viewers who don't care to listen will simply find "This" to be talky.

A director sensitive to Gibson's wordplay, David Aukin sharply stages the production with an excellent company. Set designer Louisa Thompson provides a handsomely scruffy loft environment that serves half a dozen other locations, always well lit for mood by Matt Frey. The actors are aptly dressed in characteristic clothes by Maiko Matsushima.

An adept stage actress best known to "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" fans as Detective Megan Wheeler, Nicholson nicely depicts frazzled Jane with an apologetic manner and tangled reddish hair. Broadway-goers fond of Davis' performance in "Passing Strange" will be pleased to know that her character here gets to sing a jazzy song in a nightclub and Davis does so charmingly. Pettie, Cancelmi and Fitzgerald vividly portray variously attractive men.

An entertaining and at times thoughtful comedy regarding early middle-aged jitters and more, "This" is definitely something new worth seeing (and hearing) at Playwrights Horizons and let's hope the show's brief off-Broadway run extends a few weeks more.

"This" continues through Dec. 13 at Playwrights Horizons, 416 W. 42nd St., New York. Call (212) 279-4200 or visit www.playwrightshorizons.org.