Cast Shines in "Clever Little Lies"

There's something so satisfying about a piece of theater that strips away pomp and circumstance and focuses solely on masterful acting.

At the George Street Playhouse, Joe DiPietro's "Clever Little Lies" is a little bite of a play. It's less than 90 minutes long, performed by a cast of four people and has only three set changes. There is no intermission.

Despite this simplicity, the play absolutely shines, a combination of great casting and a well-written story. 

The cast of four, led by acting legend Marlo Thomas, move through the story of a young married man who is a new father and terribly unhappy in his marriage. He confides in his well-meaning father, Bill Sr., played by Jim Mullavey, despite the threat of his nosy mother finding out.

Thomas's family matriarch is likeable and intimidating at the same time as she moves from nosy curiosity to desperate concern over the situation with her son, played by Jim Stanek.

If you fall in love with Thomas's Alice, you find yourself sneering at Stanek's Bill Jr., a twerpy sort of man who moans with desire over a woman he can't have while at the same time complaining about how he's grown tired of the life he's made with his wife and daughter.

Kate Wetherhead plays Jane, the suffering wife to Bill Jr., an exhausted new mother who wilts under her husband's tantrums. As the family sits down one night for cheesecake, the conversation turns vitriolic until it finally explodes in a whole different direction. 

The warmth between Thomas and Mullavey's characters can be felt in the audience, an aging couple still enjoying each other's company. Their interactions supply most of the comedy in this comedy/drama, as they play the meddling parents to their adult son. 

Directed by George Street Playhouse Artistic Director David Saint, "Clever Little Lies" is presented by those who understand how to make great theater. See it if you can. 

Clever Little Lies runs through Dec. 22 at the George Street Playhouse. For more information, click here.