"Perfectly wonderful! Among the season's finest plays."
— The New York Times, March 2, 2015
Charlotte and Jonny definitely do love each other. But not that way. Or maybe that way. They’re in college and have been close friends since they were nine. They might be in love. They might be moving in together. They might be getting married. Or they might not. Also, Charlotte wonders if she might be gay. Or maybe bisexual. As does Jonny. So why are they turning their relationship romantic?
As the play opens, Lucinda and Howard have arrived at college for a visit with their daughter. When Charlotte tells them that her long friendship with Jonny is taking a romantic turn, they don’t take it too well. They try to wheedle and cajole her out of it behind Jonny’s back but how can they help their daughter, and Jonny whom they truly care about, when their own long relationship is so unsteady?
These questions are among the many mysteries of love and sex that Bathsheba Doran’s new play takes on. Deeply insightful and very funny, the play captures both the aimless yet headstrong swagger of the twentysomethings, as well as the guarded, practiced veneer of their parents. We will find that all four are carrying secrets and resentments that affect the others. The answer they’ll all find eventually is that the path forward is not always the one right in front of you.
Tony Shalhoub (most recently Tony Award® nominee for LCT’s Act One and previously for Golden Boy) and Diane Lane (Academy Award® nominee for Unfaithful) played Howard and Lucinda. Gayle Rankin and Mamoudou Athie played Charlotte and Jonny. The play was directed by Sam Gold, whom LCT audiences know from The Coward at LCT3 and also from his many productions on and off-Broadway including The Real Thing and Fun Home.
The Mystery of Love & Sex On the LCT Blog
THE MYSTERY OF LOVE & SEX was commissioned by Lincoln Center Theater with a Berwin Lee New Play Commission.
