When Truths and ‘Appearances’ Collide

For a foursome of museum-quality 1970s urbanites, an innocuous social gatheringbecomes an unintended launch pad for baring devastating truths in Jim Inman’s “Appearances to the Contrary” at the Gascon Center Theatre.

Timothy (Jay Richardson), a successful entertainment lawyer and manager, has invited Muriel (Susan Clark), a seemingly together literary agent, to his apartment to discuss a new play written by his young, headstrong client, Tom (Benjamin Burdick). Timothy and Muriel affectionately spar with the graceful ease of longtime friends, but Tom’s nervous immaturity gets things off to a rocky start. The conflicts intensify with the arrival of closeted Muriel’s flirty lover Barbara (Precious Chong), a sexual free spirit who’s unabashedly responsive to Tom’s mounting interest.

Following a “peel the label” formula straight out of “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf,” social masks, friendships and love affairs dissolve in crisscrossing currents of mounting deception and betrayal, laced with flashes of well-timed comic relief.

Granted, it’s not the most original premise, but razor-sharp, heartfelt performances invest even the predictable plot points with riveting urgency. Director Gerald Castillo convincingly navigates his cast around every bend without a misstep. Clark, in particular, makes Muriel’s abrupt emotional shifts seem deceptively easy, while Chong’s erotically charged Barbara pulls strings with the aplomb of a master manipulator. At least the women know what they want--the fuzzier relationship between Tom and Timothy, with its questions of latent homosexual attraction, is sadly appropriate for an era with so many unexplored male issues.

An embarrassment of riches comes with the period detail assembled with obvious glee by the design team. The long sideburns and go-go boots in Barbara Inglehart’s witty costumes are enough to make you cringe, while Timothy’s ghastly brown apartment with its absurdly long corded phone and fully functional eight-track tape player (all courtesy of Eileen’s Prop Shop) ease the waltz down repressed memory lane.

BE THERE

“Appearances to the Contrary,” Gascon Center Theatre, 8739 Washington Blvd., Culver City. Thursdays through Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 3 p.m. Ends Nov. 19. $20. (310) 289-2999. Running time: 1 hour, 40 minutes.