Produced by – African Continuum Theater
By: Debbie Minter Jackson
The breakup of a marriage is always hard to watch. The nastier the better only works to sell tabloids sporting celebrities shot in unflattering, compromised positions accompanied by exposes and come-uppance storylines. There is no vicarious thrill while catching the death rattle of the sad couple in Lanford Wilson’s, Gingham Dog, the season opener at the African Continuum Theater, and therein lies the crux of the problem with the script. At least the tabloids are enticing, appealing in their own sick way, and stir up enough interest to secure a purchase and a surreptitious peek among the pages. The sad leavings of Wilson’s couple offer nothing of the kind, nor do the characters go kindly and gently onto the next stages of their lives. No, they are stuck in a thrashing battle of wills divvying up the pitiful remains of their three-year marriage, and we are hapless witnesses to the unpleasant results.
