Bluff

Bluff, by Jeffrey Sweet, makes its Los Angeles premiere, just in time for Valentine’s Day. The play is seriously funny – a lot like life. It tells the tale of “Neal and Emily,” a young couple living in New York, from their accidental first meeting to their possible parting. Neal, a bright young lawyer, falls for Emily, a fund raiser, and moves into her apartment with her. He comes with just his clothes, but she, on the other hand, is burdened with endless baggage: a hidden past, an alcoholic mother, an annoying step-father and the need to control.

The play is written somewhat improvisationally, a style reminiscent of Chicago’s Second City. Presented in one 90 minute act, it theatrically weaves reality and imagination thru past and present events to tell its story. “Misleading”, “deceiving” and “causing another to accept what is false by trickery or misrepresentation” are all definitions of “bluffing”, they are all a part of life and certainly this play.

Richard Alan Woody directs.