BWW Reviews: ORANGE FLOWER WATER Takes a Brutally Honest Look at Marriage and Infidelity

How many happily married couples do you know? Honestly. Think about it. How many couples decide to stay together because of their kids? Does that make a marriage work or does it just create a miserable environment for the entire family? But is it better or worse to turn to someone else, especially if that person is also married with kids?

ORANGE FLOWER WATER by Craig Wright tells the story of married couples David and Cathy Calhoun and Brad and Beth Youngquist who live with their children in the relatively peaceful town of Pine City, Minnesota. David is a pharmacist and Cathy is a teacher, while Brad runs a video store and Beth is a stay-at-home Mom. But David and Beth, after years of maintaining a platonic friendship, begin an adulterous affair which leads to disastrous consequences for both marriages. Cleverly staged through a series of short scenes on a small stage, the painfully intense unraveling of both marriages and, eventually, the construction of a very fragile but authentic new beginning for everyone concerned, will touch your heart and start you thinking about your married friends and what really goes on behind closed doors.

Director Stephanie Feury brilliantly cast this production with four superbly talented actors who run the gamut of human emotions and take the audience on an emotionally and physically lacerating ordeal. The flawless overlapping scene changes kept the action moving, and the flow of characters from scene to scene emphasized the effect their actions were having on each other visually as well as emotionally.

Leslie Lieberman shows us a Cathy who loves kids, both at work and at home, and believes in her husband's love and devotion to their family. As her organized life starts to fall apart, Lieberman conveys all the hurt, desperation, disbelief, and finally the acceptance of her broken marriage. Jeff Denton embodies David as a man in turmoil, lost in his need for the woman he loves, and somehow willing to follow his heart all the while knowing the pain it will cause to the family he will leave behind.

Sarah Ann Schultz as Beth and Mick Thyer as Brad shine in their devastating scene as Beth is packing to leave Brad to be with David. Thyer's overpowering anger during this painfully graphic scene had me fearing for Schultz's safety. I literally breathed a sigh of relief when she finally walked out the door. Kudos to both for allowing us into the depths of their dark and heartbroken souls.

There is a beautiful quote from Anais Nin in the show program that perfectly sums up the play: "And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom." Or as David confides to his daughter at the end of the play, even though people keep hurting each other, love keeps happening. And in the middle of it all, miracles happen.

Don't miss The Creative Collective'smiracle production of ORANGE FLOWER WATER onstage through April 20, 2013 at the Stephanie Feury Studio Theatre, 5636 Melrose Ave in Los Angeles, on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 8:00 PM. Tickets are $20 (General Admission). Running time is 90 minutes without an intermission with concessions available. Allow time for street parking.

Photos by Keith Myers

Sarah Ann Schultz and Jeff Denton are Beth and David whose affair has disastrous results on their marriages.

Mick Thyer and Sarah Ann Schultz as Brad and Beth confront the end of their marriage.

Leslie Lieberman plays Cathy

Mick Thyer and Jeff Denton are Brad and David.