Closer

The experience of being hurt in love seems to cause more pain than anything else we go through. Why is this? Perhaps it is because in love our inner selves are the most vulnerable. Yet despite the proximity to our deepest truths, we often find our mind confused and our behavior irrational.

The regional premiere of Patrick Marber's Closer, now in production by the Acoma Center's resident Curious Theatre Company, is an intense and masterful representation of how four modern Londoners weather the vicissitudes of their heart's journey through passion and betrayal.

Directed by Chip Walton, who calls it "the quintessential play of my generation," Closer bristles with chemistry and revelations that cut to the quick with surgical precision. Elizabeth Rainer as the enigmatic Alice is inside-out magnetic, compelling our attention with sheer emotion and sensuality. Chris Reid marvelously reinvents the needy Dan at every twist and turn of his roller coaster life. Eric Sandvold masterfully maintains a seething tension by stretching his Larry between a calculating physician and a cauldron of insecurities, while Tracy Shaffer Witherspoon delicately holds her hurt just below the surface of her warm-hearted, first rudderless then anchored, Anna.

You know these people. One of the most riveting productions of the season. Curious Theatre Company's production of Closer runs through March 4th. Box office: 303-623-0524.