Claire keeps getting back to that point, a wise and necessary choice by McElroy and Shea, and does so with bemused rather than distressed befuddlement. That makes this comedy less dark than it might be but its message easier to take. The other actors challenge this optimistic stance nicely. As Zachery (OK, his real name is Phil), Oakes makes him intensely earnest in wanting to help Claire, so we become eager to learn why. Playing the flip side of not being able to understand — not being able to communicate — Faber similarly pulls us in. Jacobs also does well in the crucial role of Zachery’s cohort, though Millet’s anger could have packed a wallop if he’d played it real.
At the end of the play, we see Claire at the end of her day. She’s a survivor once again, but once again doesn’t know if all she’s learned will carry over to the morning. Kind of like where we find our-selves every night, if we’re honest.
Topics:
Theater
, Entertainment, Performing Arts, Theater, More 
, Entertainment, Performing Arts, Theater, Theatrical Plays, Christopher Durang, David Lindsay-Abaire, Ed Shea, Paula Faber, Jonathan Jacobs, Wayne Kneeland, Less 
