Must See: The Five Lesbian Brothers in Oedipus at Palm Springs

On Sunday, I went to see The Five Lesbian Brothers in their new play, Oedipus at Palm Springs performing at New York Theatre Workshop in the East Village now through August 28th.

The Brothers are five veteran theatre artists who together create dynamic Off- Broadway productions. This latest effort takes place at a lesbian resort (you gotta love a theatrical set with an actual pool and hot pink plastic chairs) in Arizona where two couples who haven’t seen each other in a while meet up for a long weekend in celebration of the youngest woman’s 37th birthday.

The more domestic of the two couples, Fran (Maureen Angelos) and Con (Lisa Kron) have left their 3-year-old son Basil for the first time and we find out right away that they are undergoing various therapies to overcome their sexual dysfunction. Early on, Con tries to feel up Fran, whose breasts have grown through childbirth, and quickly apologizes, “I didn’t mean to inappropriately sexualize you.”

The other couple Prin (Dominique Dibbell) and Terri (Peg Healey) have been together for seven years, which is a record for Prin who tends to go through girlfriends like underwear. Terri’s adoptive mother has just passed and because of this, she has decided to try to find her birth mother. Prin, in the meantime, has bought Terri a ring and wants to make their commitment official.

Joni (Babs Davey) the manager of the resort is a blind mystic who “reads keys” a technique through which she can tell fortunes by the noise that one’s house keys make when thrown. She also says cryptic things like “it all comes down to the phantom penis.”

Oedipus at Palm Springs is a fantastic take on the classic play and the brothers were all in top form, each comfortably inhabiting their character. The script, written by four of the brothers, was excellent and easily moved from upbeat, hilarious one-liners to grave emotional depths. It’s a real shocker when the “oedipal” aspect of the play is revealed. But the ending is well-earned and resonant.

So, yeah, just check it out, you’ll see what I mean.