If you see The Cottage, Sandy Rustin’s breezy 1920s-set summer sex romp at the Hayes Theater, be sure to get a good look at the curtain. At first glance, it seems like a painterly rendition of a serene English countryside scene, with a picturesque cottage framed by throngs of wildflowers. But between the blossoms and butterflies you’ll find a pair of humping squirrels, as well as a couple of deer caught in the act. And don’t miss the bra hanging over a tree branch. If that’s what’s happening outside, what the devil is happening inside?
For starters, adultery. But the well-behaved, aren’t-we-civilized kind of adultery. One may be cheating on one’s wife with one’s sister-in-law—as Beau (Will & Grace star Eric McCormack) is doing to his wife, Marjorie (POTUS and Tootsie’s Lilli Cooper), with Sylvia (Laura Bell Bundy)—but that’s no reason to be rude. “Would you care for a cup of tea?” Beau offers Marjorie, who’s arrived at the love nest unannounced. Naturally Marjorie accepts. She even compliments Sylvia’s negligée…as does Sylvia’s husband, Clarke (SNL’s Alex Moffatt), after he stops to admire his brother’s Chinese silk robe. (“I didn’t see any robes like that when I was in China,” Clarke comments. “Well, next time you go I’ll give you the name of the tailor,” Beau replies.) It’s all extremely polite and refined—even when Clarke and Marjorie declare that they’re in love, they’ve been sneaking away for seven years, and that Clarke is the father of Marjorie’s soon-to-be-born baby. At that point, everyone chucks the tea and switches to scotch.
[Read Frank Scheck’s ★★★☆☆ review here.]
And we haven’t even met Dierdre (Dana Steingold), Beau’s lover; she’s just divorced her husband, Richard (Nehal Joshi), and he might be unstable and homicidal and on the next train. “Ooh, what a lovely robe!” she coos. Since we’re doling out compliments, it is a lovely robe, and Bundy is wearing a beautiful negligee. Also, the apple-green openwork dress she wears in anticipation of their mass murders is stunning. Pity that Cooper is saddled with such an unflattering wig and dowdy dress. (Pregnancy can be glamorous, people. Have we learned nothing from Rihanna?) As for the cottage itself, Paul Tate dePoo III has designed a handsomely appointed den of iniquity, full of rich brocades, satins, and velvets. Plus: It’s full of hiding places for cigarettes and lighters—one of the play’s running gags. The flip-top wooden bannisters on the staircase—smokes on one side, lighter on the other—are especially clever. The mini statue of David, with the cigs in the base and a removable tiny penis lighter, might be the best smoke spot; credit the crafty Rustin for that one (it’s detailed in the script).
The Cottage is at its best when at its lightest. A few philosophical tangents—Dierdre and Sylvia discussing “varying degrees” of love, Beau and Marjorie debating the merits of marriage (Beau: “In my opinion, faithfulness is an entirely separate matter from marriage”)—drag down the otherwise snap-crackle pace that director Jason Alexander (of TV’s Seinfeld) has established. And the intermission takes a bit of air out of the proceedings.
McCormack—who’s got kind of an Errol Flynn thing happening—proves the perfect dashing, slightly dastardly leading man. And Bundy couldn’t be better as Sylvia. (Omigod you guys—has it really been 15 years since her last Broadway appearance, as Elle Woods in Legally Blonde?) At first, Sylvia might appear to be just the mistress (with Beau), or just the wife (with Clark), or just the spurned lover (again, with Beau); but in the end she turns out to be the smartest one in the room. “Perhaps you don’t need a man,” she muses. She’s talking to Dierdre, and naturally everyone on stage gasps very theatrically. But perhaps Sylvia is right.
The Cottage opened July 24, 2023, at the Hayes Theater and runs through Oct. 29. Tickets and information: thecottageonbroadway.com
