THE PERFECT PARTY
A.R. Gurney’s sly, literate sex farce, The Perfect Party, begins by lampooning these frivolous party journalists and ends by commenting ironically on contemporary theater, the state of the nation, and, in true postmodern fashion, those who would comment on theater and the state of the nation.
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Tony, an ex-professor of English and powerless (but rich) descendant of “what was once the ruling class” in this country, decides that his ticket to celebrity is to throw the perfect party and have it covered by Lois, the first-string “party critic” for an influential but unnamed New York daily. He contrives the perfect, appropriately varied guest list, which includes the “full spectrum of racial and regional diversity.”
Of course the party, which we never see but hear reports of, is a disaster. Tony and Sally are far too tense to be good hosts, and even when Tony disguises himself as Tod and seduces Lois, that does nothing to save the situation. Both the party and Tony’s seduction peak too soon. As Lois says in a capsule-review broadcast on local television: “It sputters where it should sparkle, and fizzles where it should dazzle.” “It,” of course, refers both to the party and to Tony’s sexual performance. All is not lost, however, and in a series of comic reversals the party–though not perfect–is saved.
