THEATER REVIEW : ‘Ties,’ ‘Galley’ a Provocative Double Bill

In both Matthew Witten’s “The Ties That Bind” and Conrad Bromberg’s “Dr. Galley,” a male professor’s wife has taken a lesbian lover.

This isn’t much of a tie to bind these two one-acts together. But no matter. They make up a fairly provocative double bill at the Chamber Theatre. They’re directed by Jim Holmes, an award winner for “Avenue A” a couple of years ago, and produced by Gloria Mann, another “Avenue A” alum.

Witten’s play is the more optimistic. As in his “Washington Square Moves,” currently at the Mojo Ensemble, Witten demonstrates a belief that something of lasting value can emerge from the unlikeliest corners of today’s fractured social landscape.

A teacher (Julie Lott) lures an unsuspecting English professor (director Holmes) from a bar back to her condo for the sole purpose of becoming pregnant by him, so that she and her lesbian lover (producer Mann) can become parents.

The man, a divorced father himself, begins to catch on when his date’s “visiting friend” starts grilling him about his genetic history. Soon, the women feel compelled to admit their plan, and the man begins grilling them about their motivations. By play’s end, everyone gains new respect for everyone else.

Mann provides most of the splinters of acrimony that prevent the play from becoming too sappy, with substantial assistance from the bemused Holmes. Lott’s attempt to aggressively seduce the man has an intriguingly mechanical quality.

Jack Heller revives his solo performance as “Dr. Galley,” a psychiatrist who tells lurid tales about his failed marriage and his increasingly lucrative but unfulfilling career to an audience supposedly consisting of a colleague’s advanced psychology class. The premise isn’t very credible, and the play would be stronger if it were more than a monologue, if other characters and other viewpoints were embodied on stage. But Heller’s gradual breakdown is convincing, and the play raises some worthwhile questions.

* “The Ties That Bind” and “Dr. Galley,” Chamber Theatre, 3759 Cahuenga Blvd. West, Studio City. Fridays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 7 p.m. Ends Aug. 22. $12.50. (213) 939-5139. Running time: 1 hour, 50 minutes.