A Perfect Couple

Brooke Berman’s last play, Hunting and Gathering, concerned finding an apartment. Her new one,  A Perfect Couple, examines the planning of a wedding. So we can only assume that her next will explore childbearing, and the following will center on nannies and nursery schools. That’s not at all a criticism—Berman’s charming, taffeta-light plays give voice to the delights and disappointments of contemporary young womanhood.

A Perfect Couple settles in for a weekend at the upstate home of soon-to-be-wed Amy and Isaac. In attendance: longtime friend Emma and neighbor Josh. While downing various potables, the four divulge their cares and desires. Under Maria Mileaf’s pleasant direction, Amy and Isaac fret over their upcoming nuptials, while Emma faces her single status. (Josh, fresh from college, doesn’t yet have much to contend with.) The sweet-and-sour play shows off its cast to advantage—especially smart, tart Annie McNamara as Emma.

Some lines can ring indulgent, some confrontations come across as trifling, and Berman can seem to rebuke women with temperaments more aggressive than her own. But if  A Perfect Couple has its faults—and what couple doesn’t?— we can still look forward to our continuing relationship with the playwright.