A: Is for Art that has us think

The right of one person to comfort another in a hospital room is often denied because of an individuals preference in sexual orientation. Straight people have this right while gay and lesbian couples are left out in the sterile hallways to wonder. Geoffrey Naufft’s “next fall” explores this topic in a humorous detailing of one mans experience. Mr. Nauffts, is also the artistic director of Naked Angels and best known as an actor, with this company. The script is witty and had me laughing at all turns. Directed by Sheryl Kaller, it is a fast paced sitcom. Patrick Heusinger, best known for his work on the CW's "Gossip Girls" is a repressed 20 year old who is a fundamental Christian. He has kept his orientation away from his parents and berates himself for his decision, after sex. Adam (Patrick Breen), is a 40 something, hypochondriac, atheist, who is "me" obsessed. We arrive in a hospital, where Luke is in a coma after being hit by a taxi. Luke’s divorced parents, Butch (Cotter Smith)and Arlene(Connie Ray), Brandon(Sean Dugan)and Holly (Maddie Corman), are the people at the center of Luke's life. All are dysfunctional and in a word..imperfect and real. Flashing back, we discover the in and outs of a relationship that has always never really quite connected because of their fundamental differences. Though Luke has been content to just "be", Adam has been obsessed to harp on the fact that he wants Luke to "love him, more than God." It is a fight about this, which has, what seems like Luke committing suicide, yet that is never dealt with. What is dealt with is Adams rights. But I have a question to the playwright. If someone has for whatever reason kept their sexuality hidden, when you are at your most vulnerable does someone, anyone have the right to out you? What if it was their fault that you were lying in a hospital bed? Does that person have the right to say "Hey look at me?" This play has me livid, because as far as I am concerned no one has the right to decide when another person does or does not say anything, especially as they lay dying. I believe anyone should have the right to visit those they have been in a relationship with in a hospital or at a funeral, yet if this play were the example, I would change my mind. As much as this play made me laugh, it made me cry for this reason. The play fails, at it's core. The cast is wonderfully humanistic and has us feeling for them at every turn, minus the character of Adam. No one has the right to decide our faith, who we are or where we stand and that is a F.A.C.T.

At the Peter Jay Sharp Theater, 416 West 42nd Street through July 5th