Stiller, Wright Go Toe-To-Toe Off-Broadway

NEW YORK (AP) _ In concluding the stammering, convoluted preamble to Neil LaBute's new play, ``This Is How It Goes,'' which opened Sunday at off-Broadway's Public Theater, Ben Stiller offers

Monday, March 28th 2005, 9:37 am

By: News On 6

NEW YORK (AP) _ In concluding the stammering, convoluted preamble to Neil LaBute's new play, ``This Is How It Goes,'' which opened Sunday at off-Broadway's Public Theater, Ben Stiller offers an apologetic warning: ``I think I might end up being an unreliable narrator.''

The prediction turns out to be partly prophetic, but for no fault of Stiller, who performs admirably a role in which we're not used to seeing him. Instead, the lack of reliability permeates this unpredictable and unforgiving play and all its deceitful characters _ an effect that sets the audience on edge, which is probably just as the playwright intended.

The darkly comic drama is set in a small town somewhere in America and tells the story of a work-obsessed black man and a frustrated white woman who are trapped together in a loveless marriage. Stiller's character (who also narrates) enters the fray when he rents an apartment above the couple's garage. He proves to be an explosive catalyst in the formula.

``This Is How It Goes'' is the second off-Broadway production of the season for LaBute, whose play, ``Fat Pig,'' a drama about a young man who falls in love with a full-figured woman, appeared at the Lucille Lortel Theatre. LaBute is also known for writing and directing such films as ``In the Company of Men'' and ``Your Friends & Neighbors.''

LaBute's no-nonsense, truth-hurts style of writing often manifests itself in ignoble characters who can turn downright cruel with no warning.

In ``This Is How It Goes,'' he paints a rather bleak picture of love and marriage and race relations, using biting dialogue that is performed trippingly by a talented cast.

Amanda Peet is engaging as Belinda and flashes intermittent displays of sweetness and venom from scene to scene. Peet, who appears in Woody Allen's latest film, ``Melinda and Melinda,'' stepped into the role of Belinda in early March after Marisa Tomei left the production for undisclosed family reasons.

Stiller, who is best known for comedic turns in such movies as ``Meet the Fockers,'' ``Starsky & Hutch'' and ``The Royal Tenenbaums,'' seems to have a knack for performing LaBute's conversational brand of dialogue and has a strong chemistry with Peet. But neither is able to dig into LaBute's script as deeply and effectively as Jeffrey Wright, who plays Cody, Belinda's husband.

Wright's impressive list of credits includes his portrayal of Belize in Tony Kushner's ``Angels in America,'' a performance for which he earned a Tony Award on Broadway as well as a Golden Globe and Emmy in the HBO filmed version.

The compassion and sensitivity that marked Wright's performance in ``Angels'' is entirely absent in the cold-hearted Cody. Here Wright flaunts unteachable charisma and frightful rancor when he goes toe-to-toe with Stiller and Peet. These high-strung confrontations are the highlights of the production.

Director George C. Wolfe, who will leave his post this season as artistic head of the Public, employs gliding sets, an overhead display and funky interlude music to infuse fluidity and elegance into the piece.

``This Is How It Goes,'' which is performed without an intermission, is scheduled to appear at the Public's Anspacher Theater through April 17.