This story was originally published by ArtsATL.
How does a marriage become troubled, and to what lengths will we go to save it? It’s a question that has been asked before in many stunning works of art, but rarely as thoughtfully, rebelliously and in as such flagrantly queer manner as in Lee Osorio’s “A Third Way.” Running through Oct. 27 at Actor’s Express, the production explores the beauty and the difficulty of intimacy with sensitivity, humor and an eye toward the nontraditional.
The play focuses on married gay couple Matt and Nico who, in an effort to revitalize their marriage, decide to open the relationship. However, what starts as sexy and novel quickly becomes more complicated than either anticipated when Matt develops a surprising connection with one of the men they bring home. What follows is a desperate push and pull as both parties seek to fulfill their own needs while preserving their relationship.
Credit: Photo by Saturnblu Productions/Brian Wallenberg
Credit: Photo by Saturnblu Productions/Brian Wallenberg
Osorio’s script is deeply introspective, giving characters their own existential questions with which to grapple. Nico wants a family but fears Matt does not want the same. Matt wants to feel free to explore his desires but feels trapped by the remnants of a restrictive upbringing. Nico’s best friend Erica has a thriving business but few fulfilling interpersonal relationships and is struggling to find a way forward. Haamid, Nico and Matt’s one-time hookup with whom Matt forms a relationship, is struggling to survive as an artist amid an increasingly capitalist landscape.
These are all characters who are, to some extent, discontent and disillusioned with where life has led them. Yet none know where to go or how to ask for what they need. The delicious messiness of Osorio’s script comes from the dysfunctional ways they all express their needs and the ways in which those needs clash.
Do not make the mistake of assuming that the play is melancholic based on this description. “A Third Way” has some truly hilarious moments, with a playful energy throughout that Osorio skillfully weaves into the drama. It is also jaw-droppingly sexy. (Props to intimacy director Greg Geffrard, who most certainly had his hands full with this production.) The amount of onstage intimacy feels frankly transgressive, and, while it may make some audience members uncomfortable, it is a discomfort the play is all too willing to revel in — and rightfully so.
The production is buoyed by the electric chemistry among the actors, all of whom embody their characters flawlessly. Braian Rivera Jiménez is bubbly as Nico, winning the audience over with an openhearted earnestness, while Brandon Lee Browning’s Matt projects a carefully curated stoicism that betrays a deeper sense of yearning. Cecilia Leal is hilarious and captivating as Erica, and Ian Sawan gives a superbly layered performance as Haamid.
What is perhaps even more remarkable is how seamlessly the performances mesh together — each relationship feels fully developed, the actors bouncing off each other with such familiarity and playfulness that it is impossible not to sense the history between their characters.
Credit: Photo by Saturnblu Productions/Brian Wallenberg
Credit: Photo by Saturnblu Productions/Brian Wallenberg
Lauren Morris is a deft director, staging the play in the round so as to maximize the sense of intimacy. The actors do an excellent job playing to all sides, while Seamus M. Bourne provides a set both functional and pleasing to behold. John Merritt brings a keen detail to the costume design, accentuating each costume with personalized touches that speak well to the characters. Hernando Claros bathes the stage in warm lights, while Claudia Jenkins Martinez has some fun with the sound design (particularly with the parade of threesome partners that Nico and Matt bring through their bedroom).
But really, it is Osorio’s script that is the star here. The messiness of the relationships feels extremely queer, as does the play’s willingness to revel in its own queerness. If there is a flaw to the script, it’s that the conflict between Nico and Matt feels somewhat lopsided. Jiménez makes Nico such an endearing sweetheart, it’s easy for the audience’s sympathy to tip in his direction, especially when Matt is the one making the lion’s share of the mistakes. Matt’s characterization walks a fine line between a man who is simply not cut out for monogamy and a man throwing himself into an affair to distract from the fact that his marriage is failing.
Still, the subversiveness of the play’s ending (which I will not reveal, but, rest assured, it is satisfying) is preserved. It’s an ending that feels queer not just in its representation of queer characters, but in its narrative structure and defiance of heteronormative relationship forms. Like the rest of the play, the ending is refreshing, empathetic and strikingly human.
THEATER REVIEW
“A Third Way”
Through Oct. 27 at Actor’s Express. 7:30 p.m. Thursdays-Fridays, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays. 887 W. Marietta St. NW, Atlanta. 404-607-7469, actors-express.com.
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Luke Evans is an Atlanta-based writer, critic and dramaturge. He covers theater for ArtsATL and Broadway World Atlanta and has worked with theaters such as the Alliance Theatre, Actor’s Express, Out Front Theatre and Woodstock Arts. He’s a graduate of Oglethorpe University, where he earned his bachelor’s degree, and the University of Houston, where he earned his master’s.
Credit: ArtsATL
Credit: ArtsATL
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