From Michael Halberstam, Artistic Director

Pictured: Hayley Burgess and Travis Turner. Photo by Saverio Truglia.

The Mystery of Love & Sex takes all the ingredients of a standard family drama and turns them upside down by infusing it with contemporary sensibilities. I programmed it because I was completely charmed by its virtues and taken with the robust vitality of the writing. Charles Isherwood in The New York Times described the play as “perfectly wonderful” and he was right to do so.

It is a play about the generation gap; about parents and children and about the impossibilities of navigating sexuality in today’s increasingly fluid world.

Gender identity, sexuality and race all come to play in this terrific and nuanced piece of writing, and yet somehow Ms. Doran manages to address some of the most fiery topics of the day while still letting you leave the theatre with your sensibilities gently prodded but your heart thoroughly warmed. It is a play about self-discovery. It is a play about personal growth. It is a play about the generation gap; about parents and children and about the impossibilities of navigating sexuality in today’s increasingly fluid world. Finally, it is a play about friendship! At the center of the narrative is a friendship between a man and woman who must grow past the hangups of sexuality in order to survive.

This is a brief description for such a rich and hearty play, I know, but I can’t go much deeper into the play without spoilers and I really do want its twists and turns to generate feisty post-show conversations and leave you with much to think about when contemplating the great mysteries of love and sex.