Courage. That’s what Perfect Arrangement, the latest production by The Bent at the Palm Springs Cultural Center, is all about.
It’s 1950, and two happily married couples are close next-door neighbors in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. However, we soon learn the marriages are a ruse: The two men are actually a couple, and so are the two women. They have connected the houses through a passage that emerges into a closet! The lads can live in one house, and the lasses in another, but to public eyes, they look like two straight, married couples. Brilliant!
The house we see seemingly belongs to Bob Martindale (Eric Seppala), and his blonde wife, Millie (Angela Landis). It is a perfect ’50s setting, with the shag rug, the aqua walls, the piano, the cozy-though-unlit fireplace, and the round red pillows on the sofa. The house next door is occupied by Jim Baxter (Terry Ray) and his brunette wife, Norma (Laura Stearns). In actuality, we are seeing the house where the ladies live; the men live together next door, through the closet.
The bespectacled Bob is a fairly big deal in the State Department, and Norma works as his secretary. This is important, because the State Department happens to be in the middle of a serious witch hunt, searching out “degenerates” and firing them from their midst. Quite a few have already fallen under the ax, but in their “perfect arrangement,” these four feel fairly secure; as one character says, “This arrangement gives us freedom.” Of course, this state-sponsored witch hunt actually did happen; Sen. Joseph McCarthy is chillingly mentioned.
We are given references to features of the 1950s, such as “potted meat” (eww), “a three-pound can of Spry” (a “ready-creamed cooking fat” according to the ad on the back of the program) and, of course, Jell-O. The women are busty and curvy and strapped in tight; everybody remembers The War, and who went and who didn’t, and what they did then. It’s an utterly fascinating look back in time.
Where did The Bent even FIND props like actual glass milk bottles or that real shag rug? Director Jason Reale, who also designed the set, has gone to great detail in bringing this show to us, and the many subtle contrasts with our lives today are abundant. Unfortunately, the theme of government demonization of the LGBTQ+ community feels eerily timely here in 2025.
When the play opens, the Martindales are hosting a cocktail reception for Theodore Sanderson (Jeffrey Norman) and his wife, Kitty (Barbara Kerr). He is Bob’s boss at the State Department, and “Mr. Sanderson” hilariously asserts that he can always spot the “degenerates,” because “they read motion picture magazines and go to the opera.”
When the two “couples” are alone, they exchange cautions regarding their situation. “You can’t take chances,” one wisely advises. Eventually, cracks start to appear in the flawless surface of their perfect arrangement—Jim, a teacher, expresses both frustration with and concern about his students (and this was decades before the kids had cell phones), while Norma, whom we had seen as a devoted career woman, surprisingly expresses great frustration at not being able to have a baby. When the glamorous Barbara Grant (Deborah Harmon) busts in, she upsets the fragile lives of everyone.
The play is long enough to warrant an intermission, but the time just seemed to fly by. We are reminded that back then, everybody smoked. Yikes! Starting the second act, one character sees another drinking and inquires: “Are we medicating or celebrating?” Shortly thereafter, Mr. Sanderson arrives again and talks freely about the internal surveillance at the State Department, dryly commenting, “We might as well be speaking directly into the potted plants.” The script is scattered with lines that remind us of the inferior status of women back then with statements like, “You know how these hens will cluck!” (Grrrr!)
The acting is uniformly wonderful; there’s no need to break down each performance, because every one of the actors was beautifully cast and just superb. When I attended, the theater was packed, even though the Super Bowl was starting during the play; the audience gave a rousing and well-earned standing ovation at the end.
The speeches toward the end of the show were extraordinary and very moving. It is hard not to gush over this work, because you will respond emotionally to it. The courage of the playwright, the actors and the director cannot be denied. Prepare to be surprised.
The Bent’s production of Perfect Arrangement will be performed at 7 p.m., Thursday through Saturday; and 2 p.m., Sunday, through Sunday, Feb. 16, at the Palm Springs Cultural Center, 2300 E. Baristo Road, in Palm Springs. Tickets are $42. For tickets or more information, visit thebent.org.
Great review & sounds like a wonderful production. Very clever story line as well.