The Story
Reasons to be Pretty, written by Neil LaBute, is the story of Greg, an ordinary guy who finds himself caught up in the confusing world of emotions and the psychology of life when an innocent off-hand comment forces his girlfriend Steph to leave him. His friend and coworker Kent gives him somewhat of a reprieve, while it was Kent's girlfriend Carly that had spread the comment to Steph. As the story goes on and the plot thickens, alliances are made, un-made, re-made, and reasons are tested as our hero Greg seeks to find out exactly why everything is crashing down on him.
The Production
Reasons to be Pretty sports an interesting production style than other plays, in that the audience can view it from 360 degrees around the 'stage,' allowing for the maximum coverage of the events. While for most plays this would seem a strange choice, it allows Reasons to be performed in a much more natural manner. And being that all of the events taking place are more-or-less taken directly from daily lives, it makes the production seem that much more engaging. Expert work was done during the scene transitions, both in the lighting and stage-managing. The lights dimmed to a deep red, allowing only just enough light to see as the stage crew moved in to deftly replace the setting. Although, the interesting piece of this is that while the crew worked, our hero Greg would most-often remain on the stage. This gives the impression that like most of our lives, Greg's life seems to shift and change around him. Once again, another detail added to making Reasons an extremely relatable piece of writing.
The Script
While the script concerns only four characters, it wastes no time exploring the depths of those characters. Greg (played by Richard Morrissey) becomes your ordinary nice guy, who simply cannot say the right things at the right time but means nothing but the best. Steph (Jackie Ellerton), who initially seems like an outrageously angry and sensitive person, becomes a very sympathetic character struggling with her own issues with herself. Kent (Cory Hoffman) on the other hand, plays out exactly as you would expect. He's crude, rude, self-centered, and is revealed to be nothing more and nothing less than a total ass. While a completely anatagonistic character like this might seem the least realistic of the bunch, it is performed and written such that it still feels oh-so natural and human, rather than simply villainous. Finally, Carly (Bryce Erdman) is the gossipy type of girl who holds strong to her convictions, attempting to be the iron-willed character of the group. But even iron wills need support, and Carly's reaching out for it becomes one of the most subtle and engaging moments in the production and gives real depth and meaning to her character, also allowing us a brief-yet-telling view into her mind.
The plot and scene-by-scene writing for Reasons was just as stellar as that for the characters. While most of the conversations are largely meaningless to the plot, they come off as very witty and thought-provoking. Not simply as a way to view the play, but as a way to truly look at life. Are there really 'reasons' we fall in love with someone? Are some reasons more acceptable than others? If so, why? What are our reasons to be 'pretty?' And on top of all this stimulating rhetoric is a level of camaraderie between characters saved for the best of ensemble casts, with all brilliant wit and emotional engagement that goes along with it.
The Performances
The characters listed above may seem typical antagonists and protagonists in fiction, but the performances leave them as anything but. Richard Morrissey's Greg is infinitely entertaining to watch. Half for his infinitely sympathetic portrayal, half for his skill as a performer and master of emotion, and all for his tragicly-relatable performance of simply what happens to the "nice guy."
Jackie Ellerton's work as Steph was positively terrifying for all the right reasons, as the fiery-tempered woman seems to cut swaths through our hero Greg. And yet her emotional moments become amazingly poignant and moving to watch. And in many ways the play seems to be more about Steph than Greg in that she, like most of us, are searching for our reasons to be 'pretty.'
Cory Hoffman gives brilliant life to Kent, the braggart and all-around stereotypical bad-guy. In the hands of a lesser scribe, actor, or director, Kent would come off as cartoonishly evil rather than the one person everyone knows that needs to sort themselves out before life comes crashing down.
Bryce Erdman's play as Carly is the one that goes through the most dramatic transformation within the play. Initially the sadistic and all-powerful gossip girl, Carly becomes just as emotional as Steph and the level of sympathy we have for her as an audience rivals that of Greg.
The Overall
Reasons to be Pretty is an excellent concoction of theatre: a deftly-written script with deep characters, thought-provoking dialogue, and a truly relatable premise performed by excellent young actors and directed by someone that understands every aspect of the script. You'll laugh, you may cry, and you'll walk out of that panoramic theatre with a smile on your lips and new thoughts in your head. And isn't that really what theatre is all about? It may not give you the aforementioned Reasons to be Pretty, but it leaves you with the knowledge that that's what you have to find for yourself. As an audience member, and as a person. Stay pretty, my friends.
