Review: Out Front’s ‘Wedding’ presents a twist on happily ever after

We soon learn that the lost love Carlo is waxing poetic about is the bride, Eva (Sofía Palmero), and despite the ceremony having just happened, Carlo still harbors hopes of getting her back.

Credit: Photo by Sydney Lee

Credit: Photo by Sydney Lee

That is not what we spend most of the play on, however, and Carlo’s intentions are left ambiguous for most of the first half. The bulk of the play’s run time is spent as Carlo talks with various guests, including old friends, strangers and potential new flames. Eva herself only appears in two scenes, though Palmero makes the most out of both. Really, “At the Wedding” is a character study of Carlo and her self-imposed loneliness.

That character study is effective mainly due to Wickline’s empathetic and intuitive performance. However, the lack of specificity in Carlo’s history is a roadblock — Turner alludes to Carlo having a history of bad decisions but keeps it mostly vague. A potential drinking problem is implied, but her precise sins are never revealed. On the one hand, this makes it easier to put ourselves in her shoes and to imagine her screwups as our own, but it also makes it more difficult to track the emotional arc of the play. Especially since, without that knowledge, we never know why her relationship with Eva fell apart.

Wickline is on stage nearly the entire show, and she tackles the challenge with stamina and commitment. She manages to have believable chemistry with every other actor, particularly Palmero’s Eva and Wanyu Yang’s Leigh, a fellow wedding guest with whom Carlo strikes up a connection.

Palmero is engaging in her limited stage time, grounding the play’s central conflict in the palpable bond between herself and Wickline. Every interaction feels familiar yet loaded. Her body language conveys the conflict Eva feels between her desire to maintain a connection with Carlo and her need to preserve the life she’s built. Make no mistake, Carlo is definitely the toxic ex in this scenario.

Wanyu Yang (they/them) is similarly enjoyable, playing Leigh with a charisma and magnetism that immediately attracts the audience and Carlo. Their scenes with Wickline have a lighthearted flirtatiousness, and one can imagine the fun Turner had writing their banter.

Credit: Photo by Sydney Lee

Credit: Photo by Sydney Lee

But the funniest scenes belong to Tony George as a comic relief bartender. He spends most of the show standing in the back mixing imaginary drinks and throwing raised eyebrows and sidelong glances at Carlo’s antics. Those are funny enough alone, but he also gets some rewarding bits of physical comedy, including a tense sequence with a very large wedding cake.

The entire play benefits from strong comedic timing, bolstered by Jennifer Alice Acker’s smooth direction. Acker keeps the play moving at a steady pace, lingering in all the right moments. My only pacing complaint would be the entirely unnecessary intermission that has been shoehorned in at about the 30-minute mark, a recent habit for this theater.

The look of the show is mostly utilitarian. The costumes by Eliza Rainey are pretty but not particularly striking, except for Leigh’s fabulously queer dress suit. Beate M. Czogalla and Donovan Lewis do a good job with the lighting and sound design, respectively. The set, designed by Patrick Hamilton and shared with Georgia College & State University, effectively evokes the exact kind of faux rustic, Pinterest-core, heterosexual wedding aesthetic that Carlo spends the top of the show ridiculing.

“At the Wedding” is a character drama that thrives on the audience’s ability to empathize with the characters. Given that Carlo is not an immediately sympathetic character, this means that the burden falls to Wickline to keep us engaged, and she is up for the challenge. Her performance anchors the production such that by the end, the emotional payout is worth any potential bumps in the ceremony.

“At the Wedding”

Through Feb. 15 at Out Front Theatre. 8 p.m. Monday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday; 3 p.m. Sunday. $20-$30. Out Front Theatre, 999 Brady Ave. NW, Atlanta. 404-448-2755, outfronttheatre.com

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, 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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