Stage Notes: Why Torture Is Wrong, and the People Who Love Them

Christopher Durang, arguably America’s sharpest satirical playwright, is back with another of his timely comedies. This one revolves around a young woman who is worried that her new husband, whom she married when drunk, is actually a terrorist. She’s also not sure about her butterfly-collecting dad, who might be mixed up in some shadow government. And she doesn’t find much solace in her mom, who “enjoys going to the theater.” Directed by Nicholas Marti, the cast of this black comedy features seven fine actors, with Laura Benanti (Gypsy Rose Lee in the most recent Broadway production of Gypsy) playing the impetuous young woman. I spoke with two-time Obie Award winner, Kristine Nielsen, who has appeared in three Durang plays, and has a wonderful sense of humor herself.

Hi Kristine. I love the title.
Yes, it is catchy, and it sort of sums up the play. I’m one of the people who loves them.

You’re Luella, the mom.
I play the typical mother in a Durang play, who sort of experiences her family as the play unfolds.

So what’s your mother-daughter relationship like?
She comes to me for advice after she’s gotten married, after a one-night stand. My advice to her is just go to the theater. How wonderful the theater is, theater is life. I think that theater is based on life, and that life trumps theater.

Is there another level here?
I -- my character -- may be escaping to the theater. I see it as a road to go down. Choosing to go to the theater is what goes on in my house, my family.

What are some of the shows your character goes to?
I love the play Wicked, about a green girl who learns how to fly. So it’s probably the purest escapist form.

What else does she have to say?
I talk about British and American playwriting, and Shakespeare. How a “pack of lies” can lead to a shadow government.

That’s in reference to your husband in the play?
I speak in a sort of coded language of the theater. I also like film Dr. Strangelove.

You seem to be a positive influence in the family.
I love my daughter and husband very much, and it’s a mess to try to keep them on an even footing with each other. They are at odds with each other, but only about the marriage.

You’ve had experience with Durang’s work.
I think his writing is so present. He deals with the questions we ask in the nightly news, like why torture is wrong, and the questions Congress is dealing with today. I think he’s one of the great satirists, like Moliere. He grabs what’s going on in the air, and puts it on paper, and reflects it back on us. And it’s very funny. People laugh because of recognition, and fear.

The Public Theater, 425 Lafayette St., (212) 967-7555. Previews Mar. 24, opens Apr. 6–26. Tues., 7 p.m.; Wed.-Fri., 8 p.m.; Sat., 2 & 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 & 7 p.m. $20 rush.