The Globe Theatres: Beyond Therapy
By Charlene Baldridge, San Diego Theatre Scene
"Christopher Durang's blistering 1981 comedy, Beyond Therapy, was seen
opening night Sept. 14 in the Cassius Carter Centre Stage. Perfectly cast
and directed, it's a hoot from top to bottom, though the playwright never
quite figured out how to satisfactorily end the chaos set in motion by the
collision of his characters. Marriage, if there is to be one, is not the
be-all and the happy-ever-after end-all. But then, it never was.

Without question, these brilliant comedic riches are due to director Brendon Fox
(the Globe's associate director), whose attention to detail merits a return
trip to see this delectable production again. The audience and I were
laughing from beginning to end."

Los Angeles Times Review: BEYOND THERAPY
'Beyond Therapy' a Little Dated but a Hilarious Romp
"Such is the premise of "Beyond Therapy," a wickedly funny and farcical take
on love and sex and coping in the early 1980s that opened Saturday at the
Globe Theatres here. The pace is breathless, the acting is uniformly first rate, and the
one-liners litter the floor like confetti on New Year's Eve."

North County Times Review: BEYOND THERAPY
"... director Brendon Fox delights in skewering the excesses and
indulgences of the "me, me" decade.  Everything in Fox's production is
pushed up a notch to the extreme ---- from Anna Louizos' modular pastel set,
to Holly Poe Durbin's garish costuming to the frantically self-absorbed
personalities in this play about the mismatched, mixed-up couple Bruce and
Prudence, who insist on being together in spite of every reason that they should not be. 

Fox uses '80s pop culture icons to parody the period. Dance
moves are borrowed from Prince videos and "Flashdance," ugly erotic statuary
recalls the free sex era, and all the decade's fashions ---- from "Dynasty"
shoulder pads to Sperry Topsiders (with no socks) ---- are lovingly
re-created. And is it any coincidence that actress Anna Cody (Prudence) is
the spitting image in dress, hairstyle and manner of Murphy Brown, the '80s TV
embodiment of the independent (if neurotic) woman?

"Beyond Therapy," staged in the Globe's Cassius Carter Centre Stage, is a
knee-slappingly funny ride back in time. Not all theatergoers will
appreciate the play's language ---- among the saltiest I've ever heard at
the Globe ----- but they can't argue with the right-on casting, zippy pacing
and colorful physical production that keep this 20-year-old play fresh and fun."

Backstage West Review: BEYOND THERAPY
"Mastering comedy can take an entire career. Getting a handle on quirky often
calls for greater artistic dexterity. In order to pull it off, actors must
play its dislocated anguish honestly, dusting all its truths with comic
idiosyncrasy. It's hardly any wonder, then, that Christopher Durang's somber
play, oozing with humor, takes the cast--and audience--a few minutes to tap
into. But thrusting audience on top of actor, choreographing his
theatre-in-the-round like a dizzying 1980s disco, Brendon Fox puts his
directorial agility in the spotlight, setting perfect tone and pace for this manic play."

Photo: Sandy Huffaker