Lee Blessing's A Body of Water is one of the world's strangest plays. Each day starts anew with no memories for the (probably) married couple who wake up next to each other in bed every morning in a beautiful house on a gorgeous lake (Neil Patel's superb setting changes with the hours and the seasons, abetted by Jeff Croiter's fine lighting). Actually not so strange if you've seen Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore's film "50 First Dates." Same premise, except that in the film, only she had the aberration. Caught in a loop, with a young woman, possibly their daughter, explaining it all (with variations) to them each morning. The absurdity of two people with total amnesia, with (maybe) a murder mystery thrown in, is an intriguing idea. But, for me, this puzzle of the mysteries of their lives goes on too long without truth being revealed-- truth about what caused it and what is really going on. The actors in the play have totally different styles: Christine Lahti has a great sense of timing, and there is not a moment of her performance that is not totally believable with every word she utters, every gesture she makes. She has not a moment that isn't true - this is a real human being behaving and reacting. Michael Cristofer as the husband is "doing" it rather than "being" it, in a mannered performance with a gesture for every word -- like a conductor leading an orchestra. Laura Odeh is fine as the light-hearted daughter. Staging by director Maria Mileaf seems to fulfill the script, but it's Lahti who's worth the trip to 59E59.
