HONOUR,written by Joanna Murray-Smith and directed by Max Mayer who helped execute the workshop of the play, makes this production an especially meaningful return to the material and a powerful way to inaugurate the Kaplan Stage at the new Ruskin Performing Arts Center, now home to two separate theaters run by Ruskin Group Theatre.
Murray-Smith’s play is a sharp and authentic examination of love, betrayal, and the fragile agreements that hold marriages together. It begins when George (Matthew Letscher), a successful writer, welcomes Claudia (Ariana Afradi), a dark-haired, young journalist into his office for an interview. What starts out as a seemingly innocent introduction soon turns their worlds upside down, along with George’s wife of 32 years, Honor (Marcia Cross) and their daughter Sophie (Jude Elizabeth Mayer), just four years younger than Claudia. Four voices, one marriage – and lots of emotional impact.
All seems settled and comfortable in George and Honor’s marriage with their easy and seemingly solid partnership. But when George’s affair with Claudia begins, he decides to be honest with his wife, surprising her when he announces his plan to leave immediately and move in with Claudia. Of course, it’s a universal theme in many marriages, a middle-aged husband pursuing a younger woman. But George’s decision to be open and honest with his wife delivers shock waves of emotions after decades of loyalty, intimacy, and compromise unravel in a single evening.
With wit and emotional precision, the play explores the personal cost of truth and the reverberations of a single, life-altering choice – asking whether honesty is always an act of courage, or sometimes one of cruelty. And is blind loyalty to another person worth the cost?
Brilliantly cast, Marcia Cross channels a true “desperate housewife” whose life is turned upside down in an instant as the shock of her husband’s desire to leave her throws her lifelong plans out the window, just as her own writing career is about to take off after a long hiatus when she put the needs of her bread-winner husband and daughter before her own. Realistically sharing a full range of emotions from moment-to-moment, Cross lets us see into the heart and soul of a woman as the foundation of her marriage is pulled out from under her.
As the straying husband, Matthew Letscher shares both the bravado of a man whose libido has been reawakened and a man racked with guilt but determined to put his own needs before his wife and daughter. Perhaps his strength lies in being able to pursue what he thinks he truly wants despite the damage it causes to his comfortable but somewhat boring life as it has existed for several years. His biggest concern, it seems, is that Honor not destroy all the financial plans he put in place during their marriage by throwing caution to the wind when it comes to their investments.
Ariana Afradi’s Claudia is a somewhat more superficial character, yet more comfortable accepting the reality of her attraction to George, perhaps seeing his success as a stepping stone for her own career. As daughter Sophie, Jude Elizabeth Mayer channels her concern of how others may see her parents as failures, not only to each other but to her potential in the business world. So just like George, each is selfishly looking out for their own future.
Director Max Mayer is to be commended for keeping the action authentic and story realistically contrite, making this production an especially meaningful return to the material and a powerful way to inaugurate the Kaplan Stage at the new Ruskin Performing Arts Center. Kudos to his creative team: Stephanie Kerley Schwartz (Scenic Design), Edward Salas (Lighting and Sound Design), and Michael Mullen’s costume design which allows for quick changes between scenes and time. And kudos to dialect coach Gaby Santinelli for creating effective British accents for the characters, although the action could take place anywhere around the world, given the play’s universal end-of-a-marriage story.
Produced by John Ruskin, Artistic Director of Ruskin Group Theatre, and Managing Director Michael R. Myers, Murray-Smith’s HONOUR runs Thursdays – Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. through March 22 in the new home of Ruskin Group Theatre at 2800 Airport Avenue, Santa Monica 90405.
Tickets are $45, Seniors/Student $40, Thursday Nights $20, keeping professional theatre accessible. Discounts for groups of 10 or more are available. Tickets can be purchased in advance at
www.ruskingrouptheatre.com or for more information, call (310) 397-3244. Free parking available on site. Run time is approximately 100 minutes (no intermission).
MY SON THE PLAYWRIGHT is a bold and intimate new solo show, written and performed by Rogue Machine resident playwright Justin Tanner who dives head first with courage and sharp humor into a story that centers around the strained relationship between a playwright and his estranged father. In his most autobiographical play yet, two men in different apartments prepare for a meeting that they would rather avoid – but desperately need. What begins as a messy and comic struggle against pride and past resentments becomes a reckoning with vulnerability and forgiveness.
I asked Justin Tanner if he was always planning to perform both roles when he wrote the play, and he shared, “I wrote the part of Douglas (the dad) for myself. It was only after (director) Lisa James read an early draft and recommended that I play both roles that I decided to perform both father and son.” And he does both roles with authenticity, donning a realistic red wig to portray the younger son.
Due to its initial sold out run, Rogue Machine has extended the world premiere run of MY SON THE PLAYWRIGHTthrough Monday, March 16 at 8 p.m. on Fridays and Mondays, and at 5 p.m. Saturdays & Sundays at the Matrix Theatre (upstairs on the intimate Henry Murray Stage which is only accessible by stairs), 7657 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles 90046. Street parking only so arrive early. Run time is approximately 90 minutes with an intermission. Kudos to production stage manager Rachel Ann Manheimer and her assistant for their dedication to completely changing Mark Mendelson’s scenic design and Megas Trapani-Diven’s prop design from the father’s home in Act 1 to the son’s apartment for Act 2.
Tickets are $45, Seniors: $35; Saturdays are $60, Seniors $45; Students with ID: $25. Reservations online at https://www.roguemachinetheatre.org/ or by calling 855-585-5185. Please note: adult content, consumption of alcohol and drug use, discussion of suicide – suggested age 16+