Steppenwolf Theatre ensemble member Kate Arrington’s debut as a playwright is by turns maddening, opaque, laugh-out-loud funny and drenched in pathos. “Another Marriage,” running through July 23 at Steppenwolf, is also disjointed and at times tough to follow. While there’s a feast of emotion on stage, the messy romance at the heart of Arrington’s script lacks focus even when all those emotions ring inarguably true.
Directed by Terry Kinney, “Another Marriage” delivers a romantic triangle that veers between realistic and relatable to tough to engage with. As the audience follows two aspiring writers, Nick (Steppenwolf ensemble member Ian Barford) and Sunny (veteran TV/film actress Judy Greer), from their meeting on the college campus quad to married with child, Kinney gets stellar performances from his tight, four-person cast. There isn’t a character on stage who isn’t easy to empathize with, but the script doesn’t give them what they need to propel the audience through an ensemble drama.
