Readers' Theatre presents Psychopathia Sexualis

by John Patrick Shanley
Directed by Ann Whiteman
Apr. 10 & 11 at 7:30 pm, Apr. 16 at 2:30 pm

It's not about the sex, it's about the sox!  Arthur, an obscure young New York painter, announces to his friend Howard that he is about to marry Lucille, a sort of "hillbilly Aztec Evita," who, alas, is unaware of Arthur's fetish, which renders him unable to perform sexually without the immediate proximity of his father's argyle socks.  His psycho-manipulative shrink, the evil Dr. Block, unable to cure Arthur of his fetish, has stolen the socks, and the self-assured Howard offers to retrieve them; he fails miserably, as the rapacious shrink reduces him to psychological rubble.  His wife Ellie spills the beans to Lucille, and fiancée and Freudian battle for possession of the socks and Arthur's soul.  Complications and hilarity abound in Shanley's deft hands, while beneath the zany comic surface lurk thought-provoking and bittersweet depths.

John Patrick Shanley (Pulitzer-Tony-Drama Desk-Obie-Lucille Lortel awards for his drama, "Doubt) is perhaps best loved for the comic madness of his Oscar-winning 1987 film, "Moonstruck."  Ten years later this romantic farce celebrates the irrationality of love and the triumph of the western American woman over analysis.