Coen's "Talking Cure," stars Jason Kravits and Danny Hoch, as therapist and mental patient named Larry, respectively. Hoch, who also plays a pizza delivery boy in Allen's, "Honeymoon Motel," is likely the highlight of the entire production. He has the sort of face where you know you've seen him before, or someone like him, but can't quite place it. He hits every note, and successfully seems to turn the tables on the psychologist. Kravits, in this role, does a great job looking smaller than Hoch, easily susceptible to his manipulation. The first interaction the two of them is fantastically well-played. The ending is a previous battle between Larry's parents with ridiculous one-liners and some sort of stream of consciousness rant about Hitler. It is as though Coen himself penned the first part with complete brilliance, and suddenly got rushed during the second part, and dashed something off because he was on a deadline. It's tough being the first act, but Coen made his initially intriguing pages, ultimately forgettable.

The next piece, "George is Dead," penned by Elaine May, starring Marlo Thomas, Lisa Emery, Grant Shaud, Patricia O'Connell, and Fred Melamed, is only a touch too long, but hits you where it hurts. Thomas, as Doreen, a spoiled housewife, who has known nothing but elegant parties and Chanel ball gowns her whole life, and Emery, as Carla, whose mother was Doreen's nanny. The power dynamic changes when Doreen comes to Carla after her husband is killed. Carla is reluctant to provide comfort, as Doreen has treated her as a servant throughout most of their relationship. Doreen is reluctant to even plan the funeral, and her vulnerability, trapped behind her flip manner of speaking, comes out. Doreen and Carla are full characters, even though Carla reveals far less about herself than Doreen. This tragically amusing piece explores hiding in a shadow of competency, seeming to be content with one's situation, when the opposite is true. May reminds us that no amount of money can buy joy, and no excess of pride can absolve us from needing a hand from time to time. It's fun to see Thomas at it again, but Emery is most impressive. She makes Carla simply...worn out. Worn out just from living, and willing to be that servant Doreen regards her as, even to her own verbally abusive, smug husband. We see that she does not possess the inclination to make a change for herself, and yet, the ending leaves us satisfied. The one-act is successful because it is just a day in the life of the typical co-dependent human being, which include too many of us these days.

Finally, the trio concludes with Woody Allen's "Honeymoon Motel," starring Steve Guttenberg, Ari Graynor, Grant Shaud, Caroline Aaron, Julie Kavner, Mark Linn-Baker, Richard Libertini, Jason Kravits, Danny Hoch, and Bill Army. You know you're in for classic Allen when a couple is in their trashy, honeymoon suite (albeit at a cheap motel) and a friend rushes in to tell the husband, who is gushing about their perfect romance, "you're not the groom!" So begins the incestuous, Jewish, after-wedding. Nina (Graynor), was meant to marry a man, but instead, goes for his step-father, with whom he has always been competitive. The in-laws pay a visit to the motel to express their horror, and it all ends with a pizza delivery boy (Hoch), expressing his disgust, and telling them all like it is. We are also given lots of Jewish and sarcastic isms. I could sense the audience feeling fairly overcome with nostalgia. As with most of Woody Allen's work, the point is not the intimate details, but the overall message. This one seems to be, "do what you want, because there's not much else." Relatively speaking, I couldn't agree more.

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