Review Roundup: CLEVER LITTLE LIES, Starring Marlo Thomas, Opens Off-Broadway

Two-time Tony Award-winner Joe DiPietro's critically acclaimed new comedy Clever Little Lies opens tonight, October 12th at the Westside Theatre (Upstairs) (407 West 43rd Street).

CLEVER LITTLE LIES stars Emmy, Grammy, and Golden Globe Award-winner Marlo Thomas, George Merrick, Greg Mullavey, and Kate Wetherhead, with direction by David Saint.

A mother always knows when something is wrong. When Alice (Marlo Thomas) notices her beloved husband Bill (Greg Mullavey) has returned home on edge after a tennis match with their son, she grows suspicious and springs into action. Determined to piece together the puzzle, she invites her son, Bill, Jr. (George Merrick) and daughter-in-law, Jane (Kate Wetherhead), over for drinks and dessert. Sidesplitting chaos ensues as Alice digs for the truth, resulting in even more honesty than anyone expected. Shattering and hilarious, Clever Little Lies is a story of long-term love and marriage... for better... and for worse.

Let's see what the critics had to say...

Michael Dale, BroadwayWorld: But Joe DiPietro goes another rout in his genial Clever Little Lies, introducing a twist that looks like it's about to finish the 90-minute romp with a bunch of, well... Clever Little Lies, but instead attempts to switch the tone of the piece to something more poignant and sincere...Likeable, but never uproarious as a comedy, the shift in tone is at first confusing and eventually a let-down, though Thomas and Mullavey play the piece with warmth, chemistry and dry playfulness. Merrick and Wetherhead are both fine in roles that are generally regulated to playing straight for the company's senior members. Director David Saint's production is slick and energetic but Clever Little Lies can use more cleverness to keep the evening from just laying there.

Charles Isherwood, The New York Times: Ms. Thomas gives an enjoyable, mildly touching performance as Alice. She can still do that wide-eyed look of anxiety I fondly recall from "That Girl," and the comic phrasing feels natural even when the jokes are off the rack. And as the play grows more serious, she brings emotional authenticity to Alice's ruminations on the rewards of marriage and the crises that inevitably come with long intimacy. Under the direction of David Saint, the rest of the cast is also fine. Mr. Mullavey rattles off his jokes with snappy rhythms that never feel too shticky, and brings gravity as the shadows gather later in the play. Mr. Merrick delineates the authentic anguish Billy feels at his own behavior, but also the feisty defensiveness that emerges, inspired by the new feeling of self-worth that he claims he's found in the arms of his young lover. Ms. Wetherhead has the smallest role, but she fills it nicely, transmitting Jane's sense of wounded grievance but also her quiet strength.

Jeremy Gerard, Deadline: Marlo Thomas is funny, sleek and engaging in Clever Little Lies...In an earlier era - the late Fifties or early Sixties - Clever Little Lies would have had an intermission and a profitable Broadway run. It's the kind of expertly machined situation comedy offered annually by Neil Simon...its punch lines strung together like pearls along a thin strand of plot and dosed with just enough greeting-card wisdom which director David Saint and his comfortable cast deliver with admirable understatement. I don't mean that to be condescending, though I know it will come across that way. DiPietro...is a craftsman, and Clever Little Lies is nothing if not well-crafted.

Robert Hofler, TheWrap: The most shocking thing about Joe DiPietro's "Clever Little Lies"...is that here's a new comedy with no shock value...DiPietro is so clean - except for the occasional F-bomb - that it's refreshing...Neil Simon wrote these kinds of innocently randy comedies in the beginning of his very lucrative Broadway career. Simon's comedy is behavioral; DiPietro's is more situational, and he's at his best when keeping us in the dark about whether the tale being told is real or one big ballsy lie. Playing the older married couple, Marlo Thomas and Mullavey know how to work the suspense as they carefully parse out the gradations of discovery about an extramarital affair. It's quite a situation - one that can't be fully disclosed here - and under David Saint's astute direction, the fun is who knows what first, the audience or the people on stage.

Roger Friedman, Showbiz411: I don't know where to begin with Marlo Thomas...She has such wonderful comic timing, that when she stops the show in "Clever Little Lies" -- and I mean, stops it cold -- you will not stop laughing. Or gasping for air. Trust me, it happens to everyone on stage, too..."Clever Little Lies" is quite clever in that it's based on a twist and a little bit of a mind game that you don't expect. I won't give it away. Suffice to say, when Marlo does stop that stage cold, and proceeds from there, you will be paying close attention. And she is so invested in Alice, that it's worth every second.

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Photo Credit: Matthew Murphy