InViolet Rep put on this new play by Megan Hart. It is a short 85 minutes and it overflows with crosscurrents of emotion and drama.
The core story is that budding author Amy has written a book which is about to be published. It is a fictionalized memoire of her life (hence, the title?) which was affected strongly by her Mother's alcoholism. She returns home where her sister, Celia, lives with Father David. Her Mother died years ago. Amy is very concerned that putting into a book her family's life may not sit well with Celia and David.
Grafted onto that story is the relationship Amy strikes up with Ed. She meets him when escaping into a book store from a rain storm. They hit it off quickly and spend the next three days in bed (this activity takes place off-stage). Amy responds to this burst of sexual bliss by going a bit bonkers, stealing Ed's wallet and running away to her family home in New Jersey.
David is a soft-spoken amiable fellow while Celia is a little package of dynamite, overflowing with resentment and hyper-sensitivity, vastly different from her level-headed sister. Amy is screwing her courage to the sticking place preparing to drop the book bombshell on them when Ed shows up. He tracked her down with Google.
Amy attempts to explain to Ed her bizarre wallet-stealing (she returns the wallet), and continue the romance. Ed then finds himself in the middle when Amy begins telling her family about the book.
The play is completely fascinating but it does seem a bit plot-heavy. There are so many things going on! Amy has to deal with volatile Celia and David while keeping Ed interested. He's interested but doesn't relish getting involved in the big book controversy. Celia has some family secrets she gets around to telling, although it isn't enough to explain her severe attitude problem. Amy never succeeded in making that wallet theft plausible. David is too weak a character for my taste.
Despite the flaws, your mind is kept active, and the acting is wonderful. Michelle David has the biggest job with Celia's explosiveness and she brings her to life. Aubyn Philabaum is the rock solid center of the play giving Amy plenty of glowing personality. Bernardo Cubria makes Ed a quirky romantic guy that we can believe in. Richard Masur does what he can with David which is quite a lot. The set is simple and satisfying. There are many scene changes which are deftly handled in low light (not darkness) with everyone taking part in clearing tables, moving furniture, and so on. I loved this play.