Photo courtesy Andrea Phox
By Gretchen Van Benthuysen
Doctors refer to it as bone-on-bone when the cartilage in your knee wears away over time and is no longer supportive as a shock absorber and lubricant. Motion is limited and painful.
Healthy cartilage works in harmony with bones, muscles, tendons, ligaments and other support devices to maintain function and smooth mobility.
It’s kind of like a 35-year- old marriage. If the couple functions smoothly by supporting and caring for each other they should thrive, rather than having a limited and painful relationship.
In Marylou DiPietro’s two-hander comic-drama “Bone on Bone” at the New Jersey Repertory Company in Long Branch through Feb. 9, a longtime New York City couple realizes their cartilage (or glue) is gone. Their paths have diverged and they’re not quite sure what to do about it.
Linda (Wendy Peace) and Jonathan (John Little) have been married 35 years and have no children by choice. He is a successful attorney in Manhattan’s best law firm and she is an artist. They live on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.
When the play opens Linda is eager to tell her husband that her old friend Ernesto (not Ernie) has offered her a top position at the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design, the career path she always dreamed of having.
He is blindsided to learn she really wants to take the job. She claims he’s always held her back. She suggests they move to a place between Providence and Manhattan and both commute. Or he move with her and practice law or give it up and open a hardware store like he’s always wanted.
No, no and no answers Jonathan.
Longtime couples will definitely recognize and identify with this spot-on scenario.
Very smoothly directed by M. Graham Smith, the 75-minute play doesn’t feel at all rushed and the performances by Peace and Little are well done and very convincing.
The play’s three sets – New York City, Providence and Pawtucket – by Jessica Parks are nicely done, with the final one being unexpectedly stunning. Jill Nagle’s lighting design enhanced them.
Performances Thursdays through Sundays through Feb. 9 at New Jersey Repertory Company, 179 Broadway, Long Branch. Tickets $55. njrep.org. 732-229-3166.
This article originally appeared in the Jan. 16, 2020 print edition of The Two River Times.
