Money changes everything. Nowhere is that more clear than in Edward Albee’s 1967 adaptation of Giles Cooper’s 1962 dark satire Everything in the Garden. Albee’s dystopian vision of the suburbs shows us the corrosive nature of greed and desire. The play follows Jenny and Richard, a seemingly normal couple who want what most Americans in the ‘burbs want — a good school for their son, a big house, lots of lovely things. And they get it. Of course, Richard doesn’t realize that a good bit of the financial wizardry his charming wife does to make it all happen has to do with her job as a prostitute until one night, when the social-climbing neighbors come over and all sorts of dark secrets are revealed.
Ah, Albee…only this writer of other cocktail-driven greats such as Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? could make such public humiliation and grief so stageworthy. The plot turns and thickens as Richard learns more about his neighbors and himself than he ever imagined. Audiences can expect Everything in the Garden to be suspenseful, funny and ultimately a bit painful.
8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 3 p.m. April 15. Through April 28. Theatre Southwest, 8944 Clarkcrest. For information, call 713-661-9505 or visit www.theatresouthwest.org. $16.
Fridays, Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sun., April 15, 3 p.m. Starts: April 6. Continues through April 28, 2012