THEATER REVIEW : ‘Naked and In Love’ Comedy Knows the Ropes of Romance

Tom Keegan and Davidson Lloyd are the Lunt and Fontanne of the gay performance circuit. A pair of charmers who hoof their way through patter and punch line alike, they’ve made their mark with a series of romantic comedies based on their more than 15 years together as a couple. Their latest effort, “Naked and In Love: A Comedy With Strings Attached,” at Highways, marks a new level of sophisticated craftsmanship.

A poster couple for commitment, Keegan & Lloyd offer up their version of that elusive ideal known as the long-term relationship. Above all humanists, they put forth a perspective that’s neither the heterosexual version of what a gay couple should be, nor some exclusionary gay scenario. Instead, theirs is an honest look at the real deal of (gay, straight, bi- or whatever) pair bonding--warts, neuroses, ambiguities and all.

The versatile Keegan & Lloyd careen back and forth in both style and content during the course of their show. Stylistically, they move between monologue, dialogue and an engaging movement-based comedy that showcases their formidable grace and synchronization. Substantively, their tales range from the prosaic banalities of home life to fanciful “fairy tales” that conjure metaphorically the grieving and loss that’s part of contemporary gay culture.

“Naked and In Love: A Comedy With Strings Attached” uses the framework of the half-dozen stages of a long-term relationship to raise concerns both specific and existential. Keegan & Lloyd are as deft at dismantling misconceptions about what happens to couples who stay together as at intimating the greater meanings to be found in the two-by-two lifestyle.

The dominant image is that of ropes--the titular “Strings Attached”--which the two men use to physically (and comically) attach themselves to one another in a variety of ways. The motif suggests both the ties that bind and the more ephemeral traces of human emotional attachment.

Beginning with a touchingly funny bed scene and ending with a similarly eloquent bathing sequence, Keegan & Lloyd take us on a quick jaunt through the touchstones of their collective home life. Keegan talks about his gardening and sundry troubles with the neighbors, while Lloyd regales us with his pet project, a sort of visual AIDS quilt.

They are sometimes better than their material, which can be a bit cloying. All in all though, under Chuck Brown’s capable direction, they mostly succeed at mixing the romanticism with the right amount of self-conscious satire.

* “Naked and In Love: A Comedy With Strings Attached,” Highways, 1651 18th St., Santa Monica, Friday-Sunday, 8:30 p.m., Ends Sunday. $10. (213) 660-TKTS. Running time: 1 hour, 25 minutes.