Following a critically acclaimed Off-Broadway premiere at the DR2 Theatre in April 2024, playwright Lia Romeo’s two-hander romantic dramedy Still, on the possibility – or impossibility – of rekindling a broken relationship from three decades earlier, is now back on the NYC stage for a limited engagement at The Sheen Center. Presented again by Brooklyn-based Colt Coeur Theater, directed again by Adrienne Campbell-Holt, and employing most of the same artistic design team as the previous production, the remount features the new casting of well-paired stage and screen stars Melissa Gilbert as Helen and Mark Moses as Mark, bringing the laughs and longing, chemistry and discord to the seasoned characters, who never could see eye to eye on fundamental socio-political issues. And still don’t. But still wonder “what if?”
Helen, still single in her mid-60s, is a successful novelist, who writes fictionalized stories about the people she’s known and the personal experiences she’s had. Mark, who’s read all of them, is a divorced 67-year-old lawyer with two now adult daughters, currently contemplating a run for Congress. He’s on a trip into town, after 30 years apart from Helen, and since both are available, they meet up at the bar of the hotel where’s he’s staying to reconnect over drinks. They talk and joke, laugh and flirt, update each other on the details of their lives, including their serious ongoing health issues, and share their humorous attitudes on a number of topics, from aging and death to dating and their current situations, and offer their conflicting recollections of who actually broke up with whom and why.
Under Campbell-Holt’s fluid fast-paced engaging direction, Gilbert and Moses consummately capture their characters’ growing ease and attraction, teasing and then reassuring one another, kissing, and kissing again in the bar, retreating to his room and reviving the intimate connection they had in the past. A rotating set (by Alexander Woodward) makes for a smooth transition from the bar to the bed, smart-casual costumes (by Barbara A. Bell), indicative of their social status, are effortlessly removed, and shifts in lighting (by Reza Behjat) set the appropriate moods, as does the understated background piano music, in the subtle sound design (by Hidenori Nakajo).
It’s all exciting and cheerful and satisfying until the all-too-timely topic of politics arises, their distinctly different beliefs and party affiliations resurface, his concern about a secret from the past that could threaten his candidacy emerges, the conversation becomes increasingly heated, tempers explode, and insults fly, as do the contents of Helen’s oversized purse, which she hurls across the room at him. It’s an outburst that’s embraced to hilarious perfection by Gilbert and Moses, as we (and Mark) wonder why she’s carrying an avocado, a bag of nuts, and a ukelele with her on their date (props by Andy Miller contribute to the visual humor and quirky personality of Helen).
As she recognizes the futility of getting back together, prepares to leave, and begins to repack her things, he hands her the objects she threw, asks if she plays the ukelele, and requests that she play him a song. Since she’s still learning (her mention of how lends another laugh) and only knows two – one better than the other – she plays and sings “Can’t Help Falling in Love.” While she’s not yet perfect and hits a few bad notes on the instrument, it provides a sweet, sincere, and emotionally stirring recognition that there is still something there between them that might be worth another try, despite their seemingly unbridgeable divides over momentous matters that resurfaced over the course of one whirlwind night, and remain hot-button topics in our divisive times.
The empathetic, relatable, and highly entertaining portrayals by Gilbert and Moses register a full range of feelings, from lovestruck to angry, and make us care about them, both individually and as a couple. Will Mark and Helen agree to disagree, meet up again (as he proposes), try to figure it out, and be able to enjoy the love, support, and companionship of each other in their senior years, as opposites that not only attract, but alleviate the loneliness, worries, and pain of one another? Can they come to terms with “what is” as opposed to “what if?” Or will their fundamental differences remain irreconcilable still?
Running Time: Approximately 65 minutes, without intermission.
Still plays through March 3, 2025, at The Sheen Center, Loreto Theater, 18 Bleecker Street, NYC. For tickets (priced at $39-99, plus fees), go online.
