Broadway’s brand new, side-splitting farce is an outrageous tale of sex, betrayal and desire as one woman decides to expose her latest affair to both her husband — and to her lover’s wife. The true meaning of fate and faith, identity and infidelity, love and marriage are all called into question as a surprising and hilarious web of secrets unravels in this ridiculously funny romantic comedy.
The most interesting thread of The Cottage involves Rustin’s trying to work against the knee-jerk sexism of the genre as Sylvia slowly discovers that her happiness shouldn’t depend on the men around her. Fittingly for the 1920s setting, Rustin even weaves in a few references to the women’s-suffrage movement. But because the characters, for the sake of the comedy, have already become so abstract, Rustin’s points remain abstract too. As is true of so much in the play, you can see the turn coming as soon as Rustin starts laying out hints about it. Sylvia’s burgeoning consciousness arrives just in time to help usher in a tidy resolution of the plot, one in which almost everything (marriages, rediscovered romances, property ownership) gets sorted out. Like a lot of The Cottage, it all fits together pleasantly and too neatly. You’d think, or hope, that upending the status quo would involve a bit more mess.
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.
Digital Rush
Price: $39
Where: On the Today Tix app.
When: Released on a first-come, first-served basis every performance day at 9 AM.
Limit: Two per customer
Information: Subject to availability.
2023 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2024 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Costume Design (Broadway or Off-Broadway) | Sydney Maresca |
2024 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Featured Performer in a Broadway Play | Alex Moffat |
2024 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Scenic Design (Broadway or Off-Broadway) | Paul Tate DePoo III |
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