Gina Gionfriddo's somber, brainy comedy "Rapture, Blister, Burn" presents a knot of personal decisions and modern sexual politics. In it, a single professor of women's studies connects with her old college roommate, now a housewife, who "stole" her boyfriend, now an unmotivated dean, 13 years before.
The professor and housewife jokingly hint at switching places. But when the three actually get together, well, things happen, both expected and unexpected.
The situation is discussed, chopped, scrambled and dished out using the language of feminist theory as expressed by authors ranging from Betty Friedan to Phyllis Schlafly, with a little Dr. Phil thrown in. In the course of two-plus hours we get to hear different sides of hypothetically opposing issues: Freedom or fidelity? Career or family? Ambition or sloth?
It makes for a lot of words, sort of like a collection of essays from The Atlantic. But they're funny words in Gionfriddo's hands, and even those with interest in and respect for academic writing will snicker at how the author makes fun of what passes for substantive analysis nowadays.
But, though entertaining dialog can make good reading, it doesn't always float a play. For that, one needs credible human emotions and activity, which "Rapture" amply supplies. Despite the comic banter of the first act, the second act grows dark and conflicted as each of the three main characters faces situations that leave them with no easy choices.
They come to recognize something about themselves and the others; their individual epiphanies and decisions resonate with anyone who has wondered how things might have been different if, years ago, they had acted in an alternate way. (Whether it's possible to act in an alternate way is also on the agenda of this multifaceted script.)
The current production at Cyrano's, directed by Krista M. Schwarting, delivers this heady complexity with clarity due, in no small part, to an extremely fine cast. Shelly Wozniak, who just turned in a magnificent performance in "Good Men Wanted," may be in even better form as the housewife. We first see her as a fussy airhead concerned about all the wrong things, but she is ultimately revealed as someone who thinks carefully and feels profoundly. Though the character is sort of the short straw in the trio, Wozniak's portrayal makes her come across as the most sympathetic of the three.
Annia Wyndham is also excellent as the conflicted professor who watches her conceptions of society shipwreck on the reefs of ill-advised but irresistible passion. And Frank Delaney creates one of his best roles ever as the pot-smoking, beer-guzzling, porn-addicted, work-averse dean who thinks that reconnecting with his old flame will let him escape from the "sunless hell" of his marriage.
Two foils bookend the trio: the professor's mother, played by Sharon Harrison, and a 21-year old student, played by Olivia Shrum, both of whom maintain the acting level of the three main performers. They supply commentary on the uncomfortable middle-aged triangle from the perspectives of the generations before and after. The mother is satisfied with how her life has conformed to the expectations of her era, but isn't shy about telling her daughter that she can steal her old boyfriend back if she really wants him.
The student is in a position to throw cold water on everyone's social constructs from the viewpoint of one who considers herself to be part of the first generation to be truly free and independent -- as every generation does. She supplies counterviews that catch the others off guard. For instance, she's not worried that her boyfriend might be hooking up with someone he just met because casual sex means nothing; instead she frets that they might be in a chaste relationship, which implies commitment, in which case she's lost him.
There are a lot of threads in "Rapture," but they twist into one big, satisfying cord. It's a play that will make you laugh, toss in some gut-punches and leave you thinking about it for a long time to come.
RAPTURE, BLISTER, BURN will be presented at 7 p.m. Thurs.-Sat. and 3 p.m. Sun through April 24 at Cyrano's. Tickets are available at centertix.net.