Straight Faced Lies, a family drama about a heated Thanksgiving dinner, begins as a more-than-normally dysfunctional clan gathers in anticipation of Dad coming home from prison. Controlling mother Cathy lives with her son, James, whom she still treats like a child even though he pays their rent. They are joined by boozy aunt Marie, who is soused and spilling cocktails on the floor, and rebellious daughter Melissa, who has decided to join them at the last minute. Both brother and sister are keeping secrets: he's gay, she's pregnant. But although the combination of these characters could yield an intense family clash, playwright Mark Jason Williams doesn’t spark them into fire. Cathy is not the commanding presence she's made out to be until she pulls a gun—even then she fails to dominate the room—and the play is burdened by less-than-fresh sequences. (James has a monologue about his dad not showing up to his high-school baseball games.) When the end of the first act reveals why the father isn’t coming home after all, that news should be a game-changer, but by then the audience has been so stuffed with familiar side dishes that the main course is all but forgotten.—Madeline Raynor
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