Ryan Sellers as Owen and Irene Hamilton as Lily. Photo by Cameron Whitman.
The DC premiere of Greg Kalleres’ “Apropos of Nothing” at The Keegan Theatre may be just what this summer ordered in the nation’s capital. Forget the politics, forget the chaos, forget everything for 90 minutes and laugh along with Owen, Martin, Lily, Rebecca, Jacob, and Dave as they try and navigate their way through breakups, near breakups, and complete relationship breakdowns.
…a delightful comedy…feisty and fun script.
Directed by Ray Ficca, this play does a thoroughly entertaining job of examining what happens when communication goes out the window as the blush of new “love” fades. Martin and Lily have been married for eight years. The question is, how well do they know each other really? Meanwhile, Rebecca and Owen are dating, but for Owen, that deeply in love feeling just doesn’t seem to be there any longer. A drunken confession at a wedding leads to a chain reaction of ill-advised “don’t tell him/her, but…” revelations. The rest is a break-up, make-up, love ‘em and leave ‘em mess. Owen loves Lily or so he thinks. Rebecca may or may not want a relationship with Jacob, and Martin just wants to live off the land while writing partially true blog posts.
If it sounds confusing, don’t worry, it all eventually pans out in the end—sort of. This is a delightful comedy that knows its lane and stays safely within it. The predictability is there, but this only adds to the fun. You can relax and enjoy watching someone else’s disaster of a life while laughing because, hey, in some ways, we’ve all been there.
The set design on this one is quite extravagant. Designer Josh Sticklin creates multi-leveled, controlled chaos which only enhances the action on stage. There is always another place to look, another detail to pick out, and another level to appreciate. Brandon Cook’s sound design, while a bit perplexing, also adds an intriguing element to the tale of love gone wrong, then right, then…who knows. The lighting by Hailey LaRoe sets the perfect mood for this show that seems to borrow thematically from some of the best Shakespearean comedies, featuring love stories that can often require a compass and map to wind their way to happily ever after.
The acting is the cherry on top of a laugh-out-loud story and its couple-swapping hijinks. As Owen, Ryan Sellers shines and carries the comedy through its many levels of miscommunication and the resulting misunderstandings. Irene Hamilton as Lily offers an outstanding performance that makes neurotic look easy. While Justin Von Stein, Emily Erickson, Drew Sharpe and Dominique Gray round out an ensemble that seems perfectly in sync and has a firm handle on Kalleres’ feisty and fun script.
Running Time: One hour and 30 minutes with no intermission.
“Apropos of Nothing” runs through August 10, 2025 at The Keegan Theatre, 1742 Church St NW, Washington, DC 20036. For more information and to purchase tickets, please go online.
