Weddings bring out the best and the worst in people. And when two members of the wedding party harbor scandalous secrets, the event can take on an ironic twist. So begins Nicky Silver's dark comedy The Maiden's Prayer, opening May 17 at the Waterfront Playhouse. Starring Jeff Baskin, Harold Finley, Scott Gilmore and Kelly McGillis, this contemporary play promises to sell out quickly. Tickets are on sale now.
In an examination of modern relationships and notions of identity, The Maiden's Prayer peels away the smooth veneer of America's new image-driven generation. It opens in the garden of a New York estate, where an upper middle class wedding is unfolding. The impeccably turned out bride Cynthia (Tawnya Foskett) glows with the anticipation of a wonderful life. At her side, Taylor (Jeff Baskin), the stunning groom, completes the picture of privilege and class.
But not all is perfect. In fact, two members of the wedding party are biting their tongues in anguish. Both the bride's hard-living sister Libby (Kelly McGillis) and the groom's gay best friend Paul(Scott Gilmore) are in love— with the groom. Inevitably, everybody's life is about to change.
"The hypocrisy, the bone-chilling grotesque hypocrisy," Libby explodes, once the vows have been officially exchanged and she's fled from the altar.
Soon a whirlwind of issues— alcoholism, promiscuity and professional decline— consume the once-tidy little group. When the conscientiously cheerful Andrew (Harold Finley) enters the scene and begin pursuing a relationship with Paul, and one of Andrew's former boyfriends, George (Mark Watson), makes an appearance, the social situation is complicated even further.
Playwright Nicky Silver ranks at the top of New York's cutting-edge literary talent. His work includes the critically acclaimed Fat Men in Skirts, The Food Chain, and Pterodactyls.
Director Phil Setren finds the play timely and pertinent.
"It's about exteriors, blocking out pain, American materialism and finding love that will endure," says Setren, who first directed Kelly McGillis and Scott Gilmore together in the Waterfront Playhouse's smash-hit Popcorn last season.
The play runs through June 9. Tickets and info: 294-5015.