Nothing brings out suspense better than having the lights go out, so we are told that the fierce storm in McLean, Virginia, knocked out the electricity, and from then on it’s candles for all. (they live in a wealthy suburb and are neighbors to the Kennedys)

While Anthony manages to score a homerun in Lesly’s room, Marty and Jackie-O are back at their favorite fleshy pastime while mom eavesdrops – perhaps getting off herself. Marty and Jackie-O’s have a sex game where he’s JFK and gets shot while she climbs all over him trying to save him, then they climb all over each other . . . but first he has to get shot.  Jackie-O provides the gun and anybody who has seen any soap opera can predict what will happen next.

Joe Reegan is difficult to grasp as Marty – vacillating between his love for Lesly and his lust for Jackie-O.  Although the character seems more interested in keeping the family peace than fulfilling his commitment to Lesly, Joe seems more interested in having the play end so he can get out of there.  Michelle Danner had some good moments as the mother, but not enough. In the 1997 film, Genevieve Bujold gave a biting, almost puppet mistress delivery, but Danner doesn’t quite capture the bitter – go along reluctantly – feeling the character requires.

The airy set gives a similitude of elegance, separated into the bedroom and a huge living room, but you wonder why they have the sound effects guy just behind a window on stage, which happened to roll up halfway through the performance and nobody noticed it for about a minute.  The crackling thunderclaps were too subdued and the lightning kind of fizzled, which sort of sums up the whole play.