John Guare's nutty 60's comedy, The House of Blue Leaves, about a song-writing zookeeper with high ambitions, features Ben Stiller, his crazy wife (aptly named "Bananas") Edie Falco, and his girlfriend, Jennifer Jason Leigh, in a zany, imaginative show with conventions battered about, the 4th wall shattered and the charisma of the three stars bursting from the stage. Zippily directed by David Cromer, nicely designed by Scott Pask, with Jane Greenwood's costumes and marvelous lighting by Brian MacDevitt, with eight additional flawless actors, three of them playing slapstick nuns, this is a terrific evening of wild theater.
Stiller's torments and frustrations are performed with an earnest reality, Leigh is strong (and good looking) and Falco is superb in a schizophrenic role - funny and sad at the same time. What makes it work so well is the reality, the full conviction played by the actors in a screwball situation. It makes for a good time.
