Does a straight comedy about straight coupling sound like a cliché to you? Well, rest assured, Apropos of Nothing, a Comedy is nothing of the sort. Although it is packed deliberately and wittily with what seems every cliché under the sun, Greg Kalleres’ lighthearted, quip-rich script is a howlingly funny and wholly fresh take on the vicissitudes of love and our curious attraction to hackneyed language.
The DC premiere production, now on stage at Keegan Theatre, is a sheer delight, starting off with a set design by Josh Sticklin that encompasses at least 10 different playing areas — multiple bars, two bedrooms, an office, a living room — in each of which a separate scene will unfold. The anticipation engendered by this storybook set becomes its own savored moment in time.
The pleasures of the play itself kick in immediately, in a prologue, wherein Rebecca (Emily Erickson), a thirtysomething adjunct professor, has called into her office a 19-year-old student of hers, Jacob (Drew Sharpe), ostensibly to critique his cliché-ridden paper (which it really is, and Jacob’s earnest defense is “That’s the point”). After a bit of banter between them about whether lame and lazy clichés can pass as wise epigrams (she says no, he says yes), it becomes explicit that Jacob has a massive crush on Rebecca, which she regards with evident ambivalence, then asks him to leave. Thus are the play’s entwined themes of love, lust, and language set up — and I was hooked like a fish.
In the tightly structured script’s next scene, set at a wedding reception, Rebecca’s boyfriend, Owen (Ryan Sellers), having had much to drink, rambles on to a buddy, Dave (Dominique Gray), about the inconstancy of love, about how it comes and goes, ebbs and flows, even in committed relationships. Abruptly, “apropos of nothing,” Owen blurts out that he’s in love with his best friend’s wife. And kaboom, just like that, the play is off to the races.
In the following scene, Owen and his best friend, Martin (Justin Von Stein), are having a drink in one of the set’s several bars when Martin says that Dave told him Owen is in love with Martin’s wife, Lily. Kaboom, again. We’ve now officially entered what-the-heck-is-going-to-happen-next territory.
Case in point, the next scene, where we meet Lily (Irene Hamilton), who is being visited by Owen in her and Martin’s living room. She is knitting to alleviate stress. She lets Owen know that Martin has told her Owen loves her. The scene devolves into Lily screaming hilariously into a pillow. In no time at all, Kalleres’ comedically scripted chain reaction of surprise events and minibombshell revelations has become, under Ray Ficca’s swift and savvy direction, the theatrical equivalent of a page-turner.
I’ll not disclose more plot except to point out that the set has yet more bars and two bedrooms to be played in, and rest assured, they will be, like clockwork.
Quick scene changes are abetted by Hailey LaRoe’s kaleidoscopic lighting design and Brandon Cook’s contemporary sound design. Cindy Landrum Jacobs’s properties and set-dressing design lend each playing space authenticity. And given that several scenes play out under covers in bedrooms, Sierra Young’s sensitive intimacy direction calls for a shoutout.
The cast is superb. They each have an uncanny grasp of what’s funny and what’s the moment-to-moment emotional truth. Hamilton, mesmerizing as Lily, has hysterical episodes of meltdown. Sharpe as Jacob nails the callow and horny teen. Von Stein as Martin stays admirably stalwart. Sellers, who shines as Owen, conveys not-quite-self-aware even as he remains credibly guileless. Dominique Gray appearing briefly as Dave listened well. And Erickson as Rebecca navigates her tricky character arc with aplomb.
With its moving messages about love and amusing motif of clichés, Apropos of Nothing, a Comedy is a sure bet and you can bank on it. The cast’s combined comic timing and the script’s nonsop wit propel the momentum of this modern straight comedy of manners like nobody’s business.
Running Time: One hour and 30 minutes, with no intermission.
Apropos of Nothing, a Comedy plays through August 10, 2025, at The Keegan Theatre, 1742 Church St NW, Washington, DC. Performances are Thursdays to Saturdays at 8:00 pm, Sundays at 3:00 pm, and select Mondays and Wednesdays at 8:00 pm. Tickets are $54 ($44 for seniors and students) and available online.
The cast and creative team bios are online here.
Apropos of Nothing, a Comedy
By Greg Kalleres
CAST
Owen: Ryan Sellers
Martin: Justin Von Stein
Lily: Irene Hamilton
Rebecca: Emily Erickson
Jacob: Drew Sharpe
Dave / Owen U/S: Dominique Gray
Lily & Rebecca U/S: Brenna Horner
Jacob, Martin, & Dave U/S: Vishrut Shukla
PRODUCTION TEAM
Director: Ray Ficca
Assistant Director: Gabrielle Busch
Intimacy Director: Sierra Young
Scenic Designer: Josh Sticklin
Lighting Designer: Hailey LaRoe
Sound Designer: Brandon Cook
Properties & Set Dressing Designer: Cindy Landrum Jacobs
Costume Designer: Elizabeth Morton
Production Manager: Emilie Maree Knudsen
Stage Manager: Sarah Daniel
Assistant Stage Manager: Isabella Parkerson
