In vino veritas? Would that it were so simple. In David Hay’s “A Perfect Future” at the Cherry Lane, former ’60s activists and a younger acquaintance guzzle gallons of wine on the road to truth. They don’t exactly reach their destination.
It’s not that the characters or performances are inauthentic. Michael T. Weiss is especially convincing as John, a Marx-quoting radical turned financier. He and his wife Natalie (Donna Bullock) are entertaining two gay men, college friend Elliot (Daniel Oreskes) and Mark (Scott Drummond), an associate from John’s office. All are generally credible, including Bullock’s Natalie, who is delightful but played larger than the role calls for.
In fact, the drama is often overloaded. As the profusion of glasses and bottles littering the stage reminds us, this is a play of excess. In the first act, there’s too much exposition: Every sentence is loaded with details of the elder trio’s glory days in Berkeley, including the revelation that John and Elliot once slept together.
In a galvanizing moment, Mark blurts out a fragment of a racist joke. Suddenly there’s focus. Suddenly there’s economy, which continues as Mark gets fired by John and connects with Elliot.
But “A Perfect Future” is like drinking too much wine: pleasant enough in the process, yet ultimately somewhat regrettable.
