Couples Taking On ‘I Believe’ After ‘I Do’ ‘The Religion Thing,’ From Project Y, at Cell Theater
Daniel M. GoldJuly 3, 2014: At the start of The Religion Thing, Mo and Brian, a married couple in their 30s living the high-velocity life of Washington lawyers and lobbyists, are having Mo’s best friend since college, Patti, and her latest man, Jeff, over for dinner. It’s been six, maybe eight, months since the women have talked, let alone seen each other, and Patti has a lot to tell. For one thing, Patti (Danielle O’Farrell) and Jeff (Andrew William Smith) have just gotten married themselves. For another, they met only recently in an evangelical Christian megachurch, where Patti, a former wild child — remember those spring breaks? — has become a born-again member. For a third, Patti, who just made partner at a high-powered D.C. law firm, is leaving her job to prepare for motherhood. That’s just the start of the plot twists the playwright, Renee Calarco, amply supplies in her comedy-drama about two couples trying to balance the work-family equation. Mo (Katharine McLeod) has wanted to get pregnant for years, but Brian (Jamie Geiger) has been reluctant. Following the evening, he introduces a new variable: Since he’s Jewish, and she’s Roman Catholic, how would they raise their child? That never mattered before, Mo argues. Well, it does now, Brian says.
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