''Lips Together, Teeth Apart'' is a 1991 American

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

written by

Terrence McNally Terrence McNally (November 3, 1938 – March 24, 2020) was an American playwright, librettist, and screenwriter. Described as "the bard of American theater" and "one of the greatest contemporary playwrights the theater world has yet produced," M ...

. The play which premiered

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

, concerns two straight couples who spend a weekend in a

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

community.

Plot

community in

Fire Island Fire Island is the large center island of the outer barrier islands parallel to the South Shore of Long Island in the U.S. state of New York. In 2012, Hurricane Sandy once again divided Fire Island into two islands. Together, these two isl ...

provides an unlikely setting for two straight couples spending the

Fourth of July Independence Day, known colloquially as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States which commemorates the ratification of the Declaration of Independence by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, establishing th ...

weekend in a house inherited by Sally from her brother who died of

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

. Through

monologues In theatre, a monologue (also known as monolog in North American English) (in , from μόνος ''mónos'', "alone, solitary" and λόγος ''lógos'', "speech") is a speech presented by a single character (arts), character, most often to expres ...

unheard by the others, the characters reveal a desperate sense of individual isolation. The only people these four characters find more alien are the unseen gay men partying in the houses on either side of them. "As they divert themselves from their own mortality with food, cocktails, the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

crossword puzzle A crossword (or crossword puzzle) is a word game consisting of a grid of black and white squares, into which solvers enter words or phrases ("entries") crossing each other horizontally ("across") and vertically ("down") according to a set of cl ...

fireworks Fireworks are Explosive, low explosive Pyrotechnics, pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a large numbe ...

charades Charades (, ). is a parlor game, parlor or party game, party word game, word guessing game. Originally, the game was a dramatic form of literary charades: a single person would act out each syllable of a word or phrase in order, followed by the wh ...

, and biting jabs at each other and the boys next door, the two couples find little to celebrate about themselves or their country on its birthday."

Production history

The play opened

in a

Manhattan Theatre Club Manhattan Theatre Club (MTC) is a theatre company located in New York City, affiliated with the League of Resident Theatres. Lynne Meadow has been the company’s Artistic Director and visionary since 1972. Barry Grove joined the company in 19 ...

production at the New York City Center Stage 1 on May 28, 1991, and closed on January 5, 1992, after 250 performances. The play transferred to the Lucille Lortel Theatre on January 9, 1992, and closed on June 27, 1992. Directed by

John Tillinger John Tillinger (born June 28, 1938) is a theatre director and actor. Life and career Joachim Ferdinand Tillinger was born in Tabriz, Iran. His father was German Jewish and his mother was Protestant. Tillinger was raised in England, where he was ...

, the play was written for the original cast, which featured

Christine Baranski Christine Jane Baranski (born May 2, 1952) is an American actress. She received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her role as Maryann Thorpe in the sitcom ''Cybill'' (1995–1998). Baranski is als ...

(Chloe),

Swoosie Kurtz Swoosie Kurtz ( ; born September 6, 1944) is an American actress. She is the recipient of an Emmy Award and two Tony Awards. Kurtz made her Broadway debut in the 1975 revival of '' Ah, Wilderness''. She has received five Tony Award nomination ...

(Sally),

Nathan Lane Nathan Lane (born Joseph Lane; February 3, 1956) is an American actor. Since 1975, he has been Nathan Lane on screen and stage, on stage and screen in both comedic and dramatic roles. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Na ...

(Sam) and

Anthony Heald Anthony Heald (born August 25, 1944) is an American character actor known for portraying Hannibal Lecter's jailer, Dr. Frederick Chilton, in '' The Silence of the Lambs'' (1991) and '' Red Dragon'' (2002), and for playing vice principal Scot ...

(John). It was nominated for an

Outer Critics Circle Award The Outer Critics Circle Awards are presented annually for theatrical achievements both on Broadway and Off-Broadway. They are presented by the Outer Critics Circle (OCC), the official organization of New York theater writers for out-of-town news ...

as Best Off-Broadway Play, and Baranski won the

Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Awards are among the most esteemed honors in New York theater, recognizing outstanding achievements across Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off-Broadway productions within the same categories. The awards are considered a signific ...

for Best Featured Actress in a Play. A limited revival was scheduled to open on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

on April 29, 2010, at the

American Airlines Theatre The Todd Haimes Theatre (previously known as the American Airlines Theatre and originally the Selwyn Theatre) is a Broadway theater at 227 West 42nd Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. Built ...

, through June 20, 2010. Produced by

Roundabout Theatre Company The Roundabout Theatre Company is a nonprofit organization, non-profit theatre company based in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, affiliated with the League of Resident Theatres. History The company was founded in 1965 by Gene Feist, Michael Fr ...

and directed by

Joe Mantello Joseph Mantello (born December 27, 1962) is an American actor and director known for his work on stage and screen. He first gained prominence for his Broadway acting debut in the original production of Tony Kushner's two-part epic play ''Angels ...

, the revival was to star

Megan Mullally Megan Mullally (born November 12, 1958) is an American actress. She is best known for playing Karen Walker in the NBC sitcom '' Will & Grace'' (1998–2006, 2017–2020), for which she received eight Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outst ...

Lili Taylor Lili Anne Taylor (born February 20, 1967) is an American actress. She came to prominence with supporting parts in the films '' Mystic Pizza'' (1988) and '' Say Anything...'' (1989), before establishing herself as one of the key figures of 1990s i ...

, David Wilson Barnes, and

Patton Oswalt Patton Peter Oswalt (born January 27, 1969) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. His acting roles include Spence Olchin in the sitcom ''The King of Queens'' (1998–2007) and narrating the sitcom '' The Goldbergs'' (2013–2023) as adult ...

(in his Broadway debut). On March 24, 2010, Mullally left the production two weeks into rehearsals after creative differences with Mantello. The revival was postponed on March 25, 2010, with artistic director Todd Haimes stating that "they could not find a way to maintain the production schedule under these circumstances"; the production was canceled soon afterwards. ''Lips Together, Teeth Apart'' was produced in 1993 by the Oregon Shakespeare Festival,

Ashland, Oregon Ashland is a city in Jackson County, Oregon, United States. It lies along Interstate 5 in Oregon, Interstate 5 approximately 16 miles (26 km) north of the California border and near the south end of the Rogue Valley. The city's population w ...

, and also by the OSF in Portland, Oregon.

Background

There was some controversy about the meaning of the title, which was never clearly defined for the public. The phrase is a suggested mantra dentists use to encourage patients who suffer from stress-induced clenching of the teeth and jaws to lessen the harmful effects. However, reviewer Anita Gates in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' wrote that "the theme of the weekend is mortality (the insect-electrocuting device hangs somewhere on the line between metaphor and parallel), as well as isolation and the exhausting but occasionally fulfilling pursuit of happiness." In a discussion of the play with the original cast, Kurtz said "The play is at least in part about our responsibility... Specifically the responsibility of heterosexuals to reach out to the gay community in this time of AIDS, to not just turn a blind eye to the situation. But more universally, the play is about whether you can just watch somebody in trouble and think there isn't anything you can do. You can at least try."Rothstein, Mervyn
"Terrence McNally's Four Stars Talk Happily of His 'Lips Together'"
''The New York Times'', July 3, 1991 McNally said that he wrote ''Lips Together, Teeth Apart'' for Lane, Heald and Baranski, as well for as Kathy Bates. When Bates was unable to appear in the new play, Kurtz, a newcomer to the McNally repertory, was offered the role.

Critical reception

David Richards, in an article in ''

'', called the play "fascinating and ultimately quite touching". He noted that the couples were "out of sync with one another", retreating into their own private activities, and were self-absorbed. Further, they are out of place, in a house where one of the characters' (Sally's) brother has died of

.Richards, David. "Two Shapes of Comedy - Tragic and Spoof", ''The New York Times'', July 14, 1991, p. H5

References

External links

Internet Off-Broadway database listing

1991 plays HIV/AIDS in theatre Independence Day (United States) plays LGBTQ-related plays LGBTQ-related controversies in plays Off-Broadway plays Plays by Terrence McNally Plays set in New York (state)